Zanzou
by chibi heishi
Summary: *Shinkirou sequel* With the Godaime overthrown and Sanctuary triumphant, Konohans are finally able to live without the suffocating shroud of fear. But Danzo made enemies besides his own people, and Konoha is about to face the consequences of his actions.
1. Arc 1: Teammates? Ch 1

**A/N:** Okay, I know I should be working on the next chapter of 'Project', but... What can I say? Shinkirou was my baby, and this is an extension of that. There is actually a one-shot called "Homecoming" that bridges these two stories - you don't have to read it, but it sets up a bit of this one. Hope you enjoy.

Rating/Warning/Disclaimer: Rated T for language, violence and *shudders* the horrors of politics! And I own nothing but the butchering of the world and characters.

Notes: According to my dictionary, "Zanzou" means "Afterimage".

* * *

As the early morning light struggled to rise above the horizon, the first soft chorus of birdsong was unnoticed by the vast majority of the Village. But it was not these normal sounds that woke the sleeper. Hazy blue eyes drifted open, blinking sleepily. And then snapped open wide, a lifetime of training throwing the boy away from the last borders of dreamland.

'This... is not my room!' Naruto thought. The fourteen year old Genin remained still, allowing his senses to stretch beyond the walls of the small, sparcely furnished room. As his senses brushed against the presence of another beyond the room, the boy finally relaxed. An embarassed grin flitted across his lips as he remembered exactly where he was and how he had gotten there.

Rolling his eyes at himself, the blond yawned and stretched before stumbling out of the door. He dragged himself into the kitchen of the little two-bedroom apartment, whining as he plopped himself down at the table. "Sensei... what are you doing? Why are you up? Don't you know what time it is?"

Iruka chuckled, his voice low and rich. He didn't even bother to face the teen, instead focusing on stirring the breakfast cooking on the stove. "Yeah, about oh-dark-thirty. But we're assessing candidates for Academy teachers today, and I've been asked to be there."

Naruto mock-glared at his teacher and guardian, taking in the familiar line of the man's back. Brown hair, not yet pulled up for the day and brushing the bottom of the older shinobi's shoulder blades. Shoulders pulled back and spine straight - only after many months of little children pointing out years ago that _Sensei_ didn't stand straight, so why should they? Weight forward, barely on the balls of his feet and ready to move in any direction at need.

But most importantly... Naruto's play glare softened into a true smile when the teacher turned, sliding a plate onto the table and giving the blond a fond hair ruffle. Iruka fixed his own plate, choosing to lean against the window instead of sitting, and the two quietly watched as the sun rose over the Village that the had spent their lives fighting for. And they had finally won, although the cost was high. Even a month after the last battle, there were still people without homes and still others struggling to find their place.

The Shinobi Academy was a very good example of that - all of the teachers had been, if not loyal to Danzo directly, then at least made to follow a set curriculum. And according to Iruka, that curriculum emphasized all of the wrong things, and excluded so much that should have been taught. The Hokage was actually planning on making all young Genin and quite a few Chunin go through an assessment and, if needed, attend periodic classes in order to fill in the gaps in their education.

Finishing his meal while Naruto worked on his second serving, Iruka washed his dishes and pulled his hair up out of his face. He said his goodbye, picked up his tote bag and, on the way out of the door, turned back to Naruto with an amused little smirk. Naruto hesitated, spoon halfway up to his mouth as he waited warily. _That_ expression on his teacher's face always meant trouble for someone. Sometimes he hated being right.

"Oh, and Naruto... aren't you supposed to be working with the Hokage today?"

Blue eyes widened and his mouth dropped open for a heartbeat. And then the spoon went flying as Naruto yelped, falling out of his chair and scrambling for the shower. The teen faintly heard Iruka chuckling as he cursed frantically under his breath.

* * *

In a house halfway across town, another adult was in the process of watching over a pot of early-morning tea. Mikoto hid her slight discomfort as she turned back to her guest. 'It's odd,' she thought. 'Just over a month ago there was no love between our families - in fact, barely disguised hatred is probably more accurate. And yet he has been at my house all night, quite a few times, and is drinking tea in my sitting room. How much life has changed... but I would take oddity over hatred any day.'

She smiled politely as she set the tea tray on the low table, and her guest inclined his head slightly in a gesture of thanks. After another moment of silence, Hyuuga Hiashi attempted to restart a conversation with his enemy's ex-wife. "Again, my apologies. I did not plan on being here so long when I came here last night."

Hiding a smile at the rare - but slowly becoming more frequent, according to rumor - apology, Mikoto waved his words away. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. I wouldn't have slept much anyway." Another pause, and the two fell silent again, still a little unsure of exactly how they were supposed to interact. Then Hiashi turned slightly, chakra spiking briefly as the veins around his blue eyes bulged. The man relaxed again, the veins fading back as a small smile tugged at his lips. "They're back?" Mikoto asked, already standing up before he nodded.

Two minutes later, the click of the front door opening heralded the entry of three shinobi, two of whom were clearly exhausted, their steps dragging slightly as they leaned on one another. Itachi hesitated, black eyes glancing between his mother and her guest before bowing respectfully. "My apologies, the lesson took longer than I expected - we did not want to stop while they were making progress."

The two younger teens behind him, eyes shining despite the way their shoulders drooped with fatigue, smiled their agreement. Well, actually Sasuke smirked, but still... Both parents couldn't help but soften at the children's obvious happiness. Sasuke, she knew, was just happy to be able to work closely with his brother. Hinata, on the other hand, was thrilled with the lessons themselves. The girl had gotten permission to work with Itachi on stealth and infiltration, and the young man had been teaching the teens a number of the skills he had learned while undercover against ROOT. Though, only when they all had the next day off, of course.

Judging by the grass stains on the girl's pants and the leaf in Sasuke's hair, Mikoto guessed that the three had been working on shadowing a target that night. They were frequently left exhausted mentally or physically, but neither teen complained.

And every time the trio stayed out late into the night - or early in the morning, as the case may be - Hinata's father would leave the younger daughter with his brother and wait for the elder girl to return. The two parents had spent more than one night waiting up for their children to come back from their lessons. And, as always, the man held out his arm, allowing his daughter to lean on his greater strength.

Hinata bowed, exhaustion making the gesture clumsier than it would normally have been. "Thank you for working with me, Itachi-san. Thank you as well, Uchiha-san. Good night, Sasuke-kun."

And as the blue-eyed pair made their exit, Mikoto smiled at her sons. "Breakfast, boys?"

Itachi nodded silently, but Sasuke shook his head slowly. "Nng, bed. Night."

Hiding a chuckle as her younger son stumbled his way to his room, she made her way to the kitchen, the ANBU captain following silently behind her. As she sat down across from her grown son, she said the one thing almost certain to make the bland young man communicate. "So they're doing well?"

It was only the smallest change, the slightest warming of his eyes, but to Mikoto, it spoke of great pride and joy. "Very well. I forbid them to use their bloodline abilities, but even without the Sharingan Sasuke shows an aptitude for analyzing his target and finding patterns in behavior. Hinata-kun is very observant, and while she lacks the speed and physical strength of Sasuke, she is much quieter and lighter on her feet. With a little training, she could become an incredibly efficient stealth operative."

Mikoto smiled. Sasuke was one of the few topics that she and Itachi could talk freely about - she loved talking to and learning about both of her sons, and Itachi could not be more proud of his little brother. "So do they work well together?"

To her surprise, a small smile tugged at Itachi's lips. "All of Iruka's children work well together. They have to - he practically forced it on them."

* * *

As Hiashi took his eldest daughter home, they took a shortcut and passed by the edges of one of the more damaged areas of Konoha. Here, the buildings were still dangerous, crumbling walls and overhanging beams that created a hazard for anyone walking among them. Which is why it surprised Hiashi to hear the voices rising strongly in the early morning air. "Again, Lee! Let your power EXPLODE!"

"Yes, Gai-Sensei! Primary Lotus!" Hinata giggled as the sounds of something shattering reached the pair. Father and daughter shared a glance, and detoured into the mess of ruin and debris. Carefully picking their way through the rubble, they drew up at the sight that met them at the sounds' source. Two shinobi, one adult Jounin and one teenage Genin, stood in the center of a circle of shattered wood and plaster.

Maito Gai knelt, carefully scrutinizing some of the fragments on the ground, his green bodysuit and orange leg warmers far too bright for such an early hour. But it was the teen who held Hinata's attention. The girl bit her lip, struggling not to laugh at her friend. Stone grey cargo pants topped by a forest green turtleneck shirt, he wore orange wristbands above the fighting bandages on his hands. A dark orange, but still... orange? The boy was panting lightly, his head tipped back to open his airway as he caught his breath.

Hinata caught her fathers' eye, a small grin on her lips as she mock-whispered. "Lee-kun can get a little carried away, and he's come to idolize Gai-sensei for being able to teach him to match the rest of us in spite of not being able to use Gen or Nin jutsu. At least it isn't the bright colors - or the spandex."

Twitching slightly at the idea of _two_ loud, brightly colored and spandex-clad shinobi running around his Village, Hiashi nodded tersely. "True."

And then Gai stood, catching sight of the Hyuugas. The man gave a blinding smile and a thumbs-up, bringing his student's attention to the pair. "Hyuuga-san, Hinata-san, it is WONDERFUL to see you both! And... Hinata-san, you look EXHAUSTED! What HAPPENED? No, WAIT! Do not tell me - you were up VERY EARLY, and have already completed your training HAVE YOU NOT? Lee, LOOK at this INSPIRING example of hard work and DEDICATION! We must strive to match this INCREDIBLE display of YOUTH! Now, try it AGAIN!"

"YES, Gai-Sensei!" As the teenager threw a high kick, breaking a piece of ruined wall and jumping high into the air after it, Hiashi and Hinata slowly began to inch away from the overly-loud taijutsu specialists. It was too early, and they had been up too late to deal with that kind of energy. Just as they turned away, they saw the boy twist his wrists to unwind the bandages around his hands, wrapping the cloth around his airborne target.

A heartbeat, a determined shout of "Primary Lotus!" and a shattering sound later, and the last thing that Hinata heard before exhaustion overwhelmed her and she collapsed into her father's arms was Gai's triumphant words.

"THAT'S IT, LEE! YOU DID IT!"


	2. Teammates?: Chapter 2

A/N: I'm sorry that this took so long, but I'm in my last month of college - 7 days left *squeals* - so it's been insane. But it's up, and for those who read it, so is the corrected last chapter of 'Project'. Anyway, thanks go out to: ShiroLight, Mathais, iNsAnE nO bAkA, melissa, xDelta-Ha-Chanx, DarkRavie, tearfularcher, deerang88, InARealPickle, The Laughing Phoenix, The-Lady-Smaell, x-smith, NarutoVixin, mountainelements, Rangerfan58, tineryn, wittyying, NameChange1, kirallie, Auphora66 and micah.n10.

Note: Zanzou means 'aftermath', and I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Sai narrowed his eyes, focusing intently on the pages in front of him. Rereading his instructions for the third time, he reached over and carefully, cautiously added exactly one level teaspoon of soy sauce to the pot. Regarding the spreading darker color with the utmost suspicion, the teenager stirred the mixture, taking pains to keep his movement smooth and even.

A small sound caught his attention, but the soft 'bang' of a door carelessly allowed to swing closed reassured him again. There were only a few people who would come here openly at this time of the morning, and none of them were a threat. The former ROOT operative turned his attention back to the pot in front of him, carefully judging the consistency of the dish before he nodded, reaching out to turn off the stove.

A chuckle from behind him caused a momentary tensing of muscle - the man had snuck up on him again - but he relaxed even before the amused voice spoke. "Damn, Picasso, what'd that poor food ever do to you?"

Carefully transferring the contents of the pot into a bowl, he replied matter-of-factly. "I was simply ensuring that the parameters were followed, that's all." Turning around, Sai didn't even flinch at the dark uniform, his calm gaze raising to the maroon-striped porcelain mask of the ANBU agent. The boy offered the plate. "I read that it is polite to prepare food for a person who is working hard - you have allowed me to stay in your house and have been working all night. Thus, food."

There was a small pause, and then Drake shook his head. "You know, you're something else, Sai. And thanks, I'm starved - but aren't you going to eat?"

Sai shook his head as the plate was taken out of his hands. "I already did."

The teenager followed the ANBU into the living room, taking a seat as Drake set his plate on a low table and stripped off gloves and shoulder armor. Finally the man pulled off his mask, revealing dark wavy hair and warm hazel eyes. The older man settled himself back into the sofa with a sigh, sagging almost bonelessly as he pulled his plate closer. "Bon apetite. But really, thanks Picasso."

After a moment of watching the ANBU eat, Sai finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Why do you do that?" His companion glanced up, his reply more of a humming noise thanks to the food currently in his mouth. Sai attempted to clarify his question. "You call me that - Picasso - often. Why? I know that you know my name."

Drake swallowed his bite quickly, chuckling at the boy's obvious confusion. "It's a nickname, Sai. A human thing - you won't have heard of it. But it's something that you call someone that you like in order to form a stronger bond with them. I like you - who knows why - so I gave you a nickname. They're generally related to something about the person, whether it's a physical trait, a habit or just an amusing incident that you've experienced together. You paint, and paint weird stuff, so... Picasso. Make sense?"

Sai nodded, and Drake continued his meal as the boy was clearly deep in thought. It was a long few minutes before the teen spoke again. "So... I should call Naruto 'dickless' then?"

Drake choked. "_What_? NO! Never call anybody something like that - unless you want them to hit you. It's... you... Listen, kid, when you call someone something, watch how they react. If they mutter and hunch their shoulders - maybe blush a little - then they're a bit embarrassed and it's probably okay. But if they get really red and tense up, or drop their eyes and draw back, then you've pissed them off or hurt them, and you drop it then and there, okay? ...and aren't you supposed to be somewhere right about now?"

Sai nodded. "I need to leave in the next three minutes in order to arrive on time for my shift with the cleanup crew. I will go and get my supplies."

As the teen walked out of the room, Drake groaned, collapsing sideways and pulling a cushion over his face. "Dickless" he muttered into the fabric. "Where does he get this stuff?"

As Sai walked out of the house, he paused in the doorway. "So, no 'dickless', correct?" he clarified - and then shut the door right before a cushion crashed into it.

Sprawled on the sofa, Drake raised pleading eyes to his ceiling. "Yeah... 'Let the kid stay with you, Katsu" he muttered, his voice equal parts mocking, disgusted and rueful. "Teach him how to interact with people, Katsuhiro, it'll be good for him' ...Kakashi, you're such a bastard."

* * *

Shikamaru stifled a sigh, raising long-suffering eyes to the clock. "Mom" he tried again as Yoshino fussed over him.

"And don't forget your weapons - I know there hasn't been a battle for a while, but you never know. And don't ever hesitate to go for backup, or-"

"Mo-om" he drawled.

"You disappeared for two years, Shikamaru. Not a word from you - we didn't even know if you were alive! I think I'm entitled to a little fussing. Now-"

"MOTHER!" Shikamaru snapped, spine and shoulders straightening, chin lifting - and Yoshino drew back, startled at the sudden change. Even Shikaku glanced up from his seat at the table as his son continued, voice and eyes firm. "Mom, I have to leave in the next two minutes, or I'll be late. I set up this mail route, and I refuse to be late to my own team's rendezvous." The teen relaxed, his voice returning to the slow easy drawl that they knew so well. "I'll be back for supper, and you can fuss over me then, okay? But I've got to go now. Later."

As the young tactician left the house, not a word was said - but the two adults' eyes met from across the room. It was the first time that they'd seen that side of their son - the young, competent leader that Iruka had counted on to command the young Ino-Shika-Chou trio - and they couldn't help but wonder. 'Just how did we miss our laid-back little boy growing up?'

* * *

Green eyes lifted briefly from the text before them, glancing up at the clock above the doorway. Seven o'clock. Sakura glanced between the doorway on her left and the desk on her right, mentally calculating angles - and then, oh-so-casually, she scooted her chair a little farther back and to the right.

Behind the desk, the Hokage glanced up at the slight sound of chair leg on floor. Tsunade fought a tiny smirk as she noticed the actions of one of her apprentices - the girl had learned well. A moment later, the two women both heard footsteps racing through the halls outside, and a familiar voice calling out warnings and apologies. Sakura mentally measured angles again.

As the clock struck seven-oh-two, the door burst open. Naruto barreled through - and went flying back out as a heavy medical tome connected squarely with his forehead. Sakura hid a wince at the crashing sound as the blond collided with the wall - Tsunade openly smirked. Naruto wasn't stupid - Sakura _knew_ he wasn't - but there were times when all she could do was stand in awe of how _thoughtless_ the boy could be. Like now. Grumbling, climbing out of the new hole in the wall and coughing on the dust created from the impact, Naruto yelled in aggravation. "Damn it, Granny, I'm not that late!"

The boy glared - only to yelp and duck as another book came flying at his head. "Late is late, brat, and a Hokage won't get any respect if he can't even get to a meeting on time. And don't call me Granny! Now get your insolent butt in here - and bring those books while you're at it." Once Naruto - still grumbling - had complied, the Hokage glanced down at a paper taped to her desk before looking back up at her students.

"Alright, you first, Sakura. You'll be studying those texts until ten, then you'll accompany Shizune to the hospital. You'll be joined there by Yamanaka Ino - Hyuuga Hinata has the morning off. I've given them both medical texts to study at home, but they're not as advanced as yours so don't expect them to be on your level. Regardless, you will be there until three thirty, when you'll be dismissed."

Sakura pressed her lips, brow wrinkling in confusion at her orders. Usually, she'd be studying until noon, and then at the hospital until six. It wasn't unusual for the other girls to join her - Hinata had a caring nature that made the girl want to help everyone, and hated seeing them hurting, while Ino was trying to expand her skills - but they were being released so early...

Seeing her expression, Tsunade's lips twitched. "At four, you'll be meeting all of the former Sanctuary Genin at the Academy - where you'll be sorted into teams and assigned your Jounin teacher."

There was silence in the room for a long instant as the older blonde's words sank in, but then Sakura beamed - and Naruto whooped, jumping out of his seat and punching a fist into the air. "All RIGHT!" he yelled. "We're gonna get _missions_!" Laughing at the teenagers' enthusiasm as Naruto turned to babble excitedly to his friend, Tsunade mentally reviewed the teams she'd assigned - and snickered again.

A knock on the door cut her laughter short, but she grinned as she actually stood and went to open it herself. Naruto's babble tapered off when Shizune staggered in with a small mountain of papers in her arms, which she promptly set in the middle of the floor. The boy shrank back in his seat as the Hokage turned to face him - he didn't like the gleam in her eyes, and that grin was positively _demented_. "Now, brat, you're going to be learning - and eventually doing most of - the biggest part of being the Hokage." If possible, that grin widened. Both teens gulped.

"Paperwork."


	3. Teammates?: Chapter 3

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reads this, and especially to everyone who reviewed: **DarkRavie, Alchemist Astrid, mountainelements, deviltiger, tearfularcher, iNsAnE nO bAkA, InARealPickle** and **The Laughing Phoenix.**

Note/Disclaimer: Zanzou means 'afterimage' and I own no part of the characters I'm torturing.

* * *

Tenten hummed cheerfully as she worked, absently wiping the sweat off of her brow as she carefully lowered the mould into the waiting container. As the hot metal met the cool water, steam billowed out - and the sound of coughing erupted from behind her. The teen just grinned. "You should know better than to come into the forge without the right protective gear, dad. Aren't you the one who always lectures me on the craft?"

The man ducked outside, waiting patiently as she put away her tools and stripped off the heavy work gloves before he spoke."Yes, but... I didn't think that you'd be crafting anymore. You're a shinobi now - and I couldn't be prouder of you, sweetheart - I just didn't think that you'd still work the forge.

Tenten's grin faded, something melancholy flickering in her eyes for a moment, but then she smiled. "Dad, I'll always be a part of the craft - I like making weapons, there's something... soothing... about it. I've just been busy lately. But I don't see myself ever dropping it for good, I'd miss it too much."

Her father laughed, missing the brief dimming of his daughter's mood. "That's my girl. Anyway, one of the runner kids dropped off a letter for you - I think that you've got another assignment."

* * *

The sun beat down on the filthy streets of Konoha's Western sector, one of the most heavily damaged. His footsteps echoed slightly, raising small clouds of dust no matter how lightly he walked. Feeling the sweat trickling underneath his collar, Shino vaguely entertained the wish that his allies were not so fond of darkness, so that he could strip off the heavy long coat he wore.

But he mentally shrugged off the feeling, refocusing on his mission. Behind dark glasses, his eyes swept the streets looking for the tell-tale shine of white. 'Ah, there.' Turning to his left, Shino strode calmly down a side street, feeling the distinct drop in temperature as he stepped into the shade, eyes locked on the two still figures curled atop a pile of boxes at the end of the alley.

Halfway down the path, one white ear swiveled in his direction, and the nin-ken's nose twitched twice. Obviously finding him no threat, the enormous dog let its' ear drop back to a resting position. Three steps farther, and the second figure stirred slightly. One dark eye opened, and Shino found himself the subject of an intense, if drowsy, scrutiny. Kiba closed his eye again. "Shift's over, we're resting. Go away."

Eyes flicking over the coating of dust and dirt on both reclining figures, noting the scratches on the other Genin's hands and arms, Shino felt a brief pang of sympathy. His searches consisted of standing back and waiting for his allies to report on the location of the objects he sought where as Kiba's nose led him to sifting through debris - sometimes fruitlessly - alongside Akamaru. Just over a month out from Konoha's uprising, and shinobi were still pulling out paperwork, weaponry - some particularly sentimental items for civilians - and other various things from the rubble of many sections of the Village. Though at least they were no longer retrieving bodies.

But once again, Shino shook off the feeling. He had not sought the other boy out for an idle chat. "Kiba-san, I was sent to inform you of our Hokage's latest orders."

A short moment of silence, and then the rougher boy heaved a sigh. But he opened his eyes, pushing himself up until he stood in front of his taller companion. "It's obviously not urgent, but whatever. What's up?"

"All Sanctuary Genin - and any now-teamless Academy students, such as myself - are to report to the Konoha Shinobi Academy lecture room 2 at promptly four o'clock this afternoon." Seeing the other boy's sceptical expression, Shino allowed a tiny smirk under the cover of his collar. "We are to be introduced to our new Genin teams, and our Jounin sensei."

A heartbeat, a blink, and then Kiba grinned, showing off too many sharp teeth. "Finally."

* * *

Neji listened carefully, basking in the simple happiness in his father's voice as they walked down one of the many covered porches of the Hyuuga House. In the last month, Hizashi's voice had been lighter than Neji could remember it ever being. Probably, it had been that way before Hinata had been 'killed', but Neji had been too young to hold onto those memories in the face of the weary, somber tone of later years, and so he treasured it now.

Light footsteps racing around the corner ahead caught his attention, and Neji reached out a hand to catch the small body that barreled around the corner before the child collided with him. But the girl ducked out from under his grasp, sliding back into a fighting stance in an instant. His lips twitched as his father laughed, and even Hanabi giggled for a moment. "Aah, sorry, Nii-san."

Neji waved one hand as the younger girl straightened out of her stance, a slightly sheepish smile on her lips. Most of Sanctuary's children had that reaction when startled - the constant drills and secrecy had embedded a shinobi's reactions into even the little ones. "Don't worry, it's fine. But what are you so excited about - it is not like you to be so reckless."

Hanabi brightened even more, her grin spreading over her face. "I was going to tell Father and Hinata - it's so cool, Neji! They're re-combining the Academy classes so that shinobi and kunoichi will train together again, but there's a lot that each group was never taught. So Sensei said that they're going to make a study period during the day, where the boys will learn genjutsu and the 'girly' stuff, and the girls will work on taijutsu and offensive jutsu. And guess what? Sensei said that they'll teach the lesson, but that they'll probably let us lead some of the practice groups!"

Neji chuckled. "Well, I think that Hinata is still sleeping, but Hiashi-sama is in his office, and I'm sure that he'll be excited to hear all about it." The nine-year-old tossed him another grin and a quick wave before running - a little more slowly this time - down the porch and into the House.

Both males shook their heads at the child's energy, but Hizashi's musing words caught his son's attention. "You know, you really need to stop doing that." Neji's calm glance failed to fool his father, who shook his head as he explained. "You all have this tendency to say 'we' or 'us' when speaking of the former Sanctuary group. But you are not Sanctuary anymore, you are Konoha shinobi, and this manner of speech is very... isolating. Exclusive."

Blue eyes dropped to the ground, the lightest of blushes staining Neji's face. "I know - Sensei has already spoken to us about it. And we are trying, it's just... hard."

"Because you spent so much time and shared so many secrets together?"

To his father's surprise, Neji shook his head, eyes clouding as the teen struggled to find the words. The boy stepped around the corner, Hizashi following silently as he waited for his son to put voice to the troubles reflected in his eyes. They finally stopped at the railing of another porch, the boy's pale hands gripping the banister as they spent a moment watching some of the other Clan teenagers practicing their Jyuuken.

When Neji spoke, his voice was distant, clearly having problems explaining what he felt. "It's not that - or at least, not entirely. It's... Yes, we shared secrets and responsibilities, but... when I am around my former classmates or the other teenagers in the Clan, all I can seem to think is that they seem so... _young_." The teen's hands tightened, his voice sounding painfully lost and confused. "Father, why do they seem so very young?"

Hizashi's eyes widened, and then closed as sadness and understanding washed over him. Knowing that no words could fix this, he did the only thing that he could think of. He stepped up and placed his arms around the shoulders of a boy he suddenly realized had been forced to grow up too fast.

* * *

The room buzzed quietly with conversation as the gathered teenagers traded updates. But the group fell silent when the door opened promptly at four, admitting two very familiar faces. One was their Hokage, and each teen anticipated the reading of the scroll in her hands. But it was the second person that made their spines straighten and their voices still respectfully. Iruka smiled at his children, pleased to see that they were all on time. Each teen smiled back, waving or inclining their heads in a small bow as their natures dictated.

But when Tsunade cleared her throat, every eye snapped to her. The buxom blonde stood in front of the gathered Genin, crossing her arms in front of her as she spoke. "Alright, you all know why you're here. Konoha can finally afford to pull its Jounin away from the tasks that they're on and assign some of them a team. But this won't be a normal set of teams. I'm going to be blunt with you - I don't consider any of you to be Genin."

A brief murmur swept through the room at their leader's words, but a small gesture from Iruka quieted them again. Tsunade smirked at the man, who blushed lightly as he shrugged. When Tsunade turned back to the group, her voice was more serious.

"Like I said, I don't consider you Genin. Every one of you has proven that you can perform under pressure, and have a stealth and tactical ability that most Genin lack. Hell, you brats took on ROOT - snuck around them for years, and then fought them head on. There's only _one_ thing keeping me from declaring you all Chunin right now - none of you have any experience outside of Konoha, and that's vital for Chunin. A Chunin has to be able to lead missions into other Countries, to camp out in the woods and to blend in with people who have very different habits and accents then we do. And none of you can do that._ Yet_. So I'm putting you in teams, and assigning you to Jounin. But I'm going to skip over this D-rank farce - I think you've all proven that you can work as groups. So I'm going to boot you straight to C and maybe some B-ranked missions, and I expect you to behave like the shinobi I think you are. Understand?"

Tsunade smirked, and Iruka's face glowed with pride as the teenagers voiced their understanding and agreement. "Alright, then. When I read off your names and team, I'll give you a location. You go to that place, and your Jounin Sensei will meet you there. Good luck, and hurry up - I expect to see all of you in vests before long."

* * *

The three stepped onto the rooftop, glancing around for this mysterious 'Sensei'. Before they could speak, the three teens had the brief impression of green, and then a blinding flash of light heralded the arrival of a very familiar Jounin. Lee was ecstatic. Neji stifled a groan. He knew that Gai-san was a good fighter who cared about his comrades, and would probably teach them a lot, but still... He twitched slightly, eyeing the bright green spandex body suit his new sensei insisted on inflicting upon the unfortunate souls around him.

Tenten leaned over and whispered in her teammate's ear. "It could be worse, Neji - we could've been stuck with the weirdo."

Neji suddenly went very still, eyes glazing over as his mind conjured up an image of the white-haired - and apparently highly perverted - seal master he and his friends had been rescued by during the revolution. Hizashi had later told him that Jiraiya-sama was an incredible shinobi, legendary for his strength and skill. Neji had literally bitten his tongue to keep himself from calling his father a liar.

The blue-eyed boy shuddered. "Gai-Sensei is fine."

* * *

The four of them stared at one another for a long moment before the silence was broken. Ino started snickering as Shikamaru's lips slowly formed a tiny smirk. Chouji just grinned as he munched on his chips.

_'Oh, hell. He told them.'_ Lips twisting thoughtfully, Asuma chewed on the butt of his cigarette as he mentally re-evaluated his plan. Settling on a new decision, he took out the cigarette and put it out in the palm of one hand. "All right." he told them, the appraising expression on his face causing the female member of his team to stop laughing. "You like tests, games? Well don't worry - I'll test you."

Chouji gulped, exchanging suddenly nervous glances with Ino. Shikamaru just shook his head. "Troublesome" he muttered - with that little smirk still in place.

* * *

Kiba idly ran his fingers through Akamaru's fur, tossing a quick grin and a wave as Shino joined the trio. Hinata gave the quiet teen a soft smile, scooting over to make room for him on the bench beside her. The three teens waited, two patient and one growing drowsy as the time passed. Finally Shino spoke. "I have heard that some Jounin used to give their Genin teams a test to pass before they would accept the students. Perhaps our Sensei is testing our patience?"

Kiba yawned, exhaustion from the heat and the long working hours of earlier in the day finally catching up now that his excitement was dying down. "Hm, maybe. Or, I don't know, keeping our guard up?"

A moment of silence passed, and Hinata reached out to touch Kiba's shoulder. "If we're going to be waiting a while, you can probably take a nap, Kiba-kun. Shino-kun and I will keep watch for you..." Shino nodded when the smaller girl glanced at him, and she smiled again before continuing. "Part of a long-term guard or surveilance is that you have to have a way for the watcher to rest, so we might as well start practicing shift work now, don't you think?"

A soft laugh had all three Genin jumping to their feet, drowsiness forgotten as the air downwind of them... rippled. Kurenai stepped into sight, the small smile on her face holding an almost vindicated edge. "Very good, Hinata. You all will need to be able to assist each other - though I was just waiting to find out how you would all react to a long wait. I have to say, I'm very impressed with all of you. Now, let's meet back here at eight o'clock in the morning, all right? And everyone... rest well, I have a long day planned."

* * *

Kakashi waited, mentally counting down until the arrival of his comrade. He had even turned over control of his ANBU squad in order to take on some of the new Genin, but when he'd gotten the names of his team... Well, plans had changed a bit. The group really wasn't entirely suited for any one area, so, they'd just have to get... well rounded - or have each team member specialize in something different. But from what he'd seen of their underground days, he'd bet that it would actually end up being both - they would specialize on his time, and then round each other out on their own.

Kakashi smirked under his mask - this was going to be _fun_.

A moment later and his countdown ended - and sure enough, just as the clock struck five a figure blurred into place on a nearby branch. Itachi glanced at him, glanced down at the Genin, and then smirked. "Fine."

Kakashi blinked. "Fine? Do you even know what I was going to say?"

"You were going to ask if I would work with Sasuke on stealth - I am already doing so. And I knew when I saw your team. They are not suited for a single specialty - but Naruto, with his immense chakra stores, is well suited for heavy combat. Sasuke is best suited for skirmish work or stealth, where he can make use of his natural speed, and Sakura is already specializing in medical jutsu. You can teach many combat techniques, the girl is under the best medic already, and that leaves teaching stealth. So fine. And Hatake-san... you do realize that they know where you are, don't you?"

As the younger ANBU vanished, Kakashi darted his eyes to his new team just in time to see Naruto burst into laughter. Their backs to him, Sakura waved - at his reflection in the water below the bridge.

Kakashi cursed - this was going to be _hell_.

* * *

A/N 2: If anyone is confused about what Asuma meant by 'he told them' , here's the deal: those of you who read 'Shinkirou' might remember a certain 'test', one that left the man looking like a burnt chicken? And later, the incident with the blue beard. Shika was there for both, and he later told his teammates about it.


	4. Teammates?: Chapter 4

**A/N:** And I'm BA-ACK! College is over, graduation trip is done, and I now have time to actually sit down and write! Of course, my computer's fried, so there's only one system between me and two college students, but still... Next chapter, for your reading pleasure. Thanks to: **InARealPickle, deviltiger, tearfularcher, NarutoVixen, mountainelements, Alchemist Astrid, Thealie, Midnight Phase, DarkRavie, iNsAnE nO bAkA, linkhyrule5, Rangerfan58, Harvey, Jewelle2** and **The Laughing Phoenix**. You all rock.

Ratings/Disclaimer: Rated T for language, violence and politics. I'm not rich enough to own Naruto - else I'd be writing full time.

* * *

The small group shuffled uneasily, their expressions a mixture of anticipation, uneasiness and pride. The teenager in front of them allowed dark eyes to drift over the gathered children, quietly appraising. Finally he smiled, a small, proud quirk of the lips. "Well, this is it" he told them. "I won't have time to lead this group anymore, or even to remind you of stuff. You remember the rules?"

The young civilians voiced their agreement. "We remember" one little girl stated, her brown eyes serious. "Anything going to the Hokage Tower is first priority, and business mail next. Letters between persons are last, and we don't carry any packages over folder sized."

The young shinobi reached out, ruffling the child's hair as he nodded. "That's right, and you don't stay out after dark. Your parents wouldn't like me telling you to stay out all hours. So, do you think you can handle it yourselves?"

The children nodded, their expressions solemn as they shouldered a responsibility they had created themselves. One little boy kicked the ground, his voice almost sulky as he muttered. "Still don't see why you've gotta go serve the stupid Hokage."

The teenager answered carelessly. "I don't." As the children gaped, horrified, Shikamaru smirked. "I don't serve the Hokage, I serve Konoha. The Hokage organizes, gives orders and priorities to what needs to be done – kind of like we prioritize our mail deliveries. It all has to be done, but someone has to decide what needs doing first or it'll all be chaos, and nothing will ever get done. The Hokage is that person – but she acts in Konoha's best interests. So basically, the Hokage is actually supposed to be the biggest servant of us all."

As the children split up, returning to their various homes for the day, the boy who had questioned Shikamaru plopped down at his kitchen table with a thoughtful expression. "Sweetheart, what happened?" his mother questioned, slightly concerned by her son's uncharacteristic silence.

Konohamaru looked up, his eyes shining as he answered. "Mom, I've changed my mind – I want to be a shinobi. No, I want to be the Hokage!"

* * *

_'Slow'_ he reminded himself. _'Keep it slow and steady.'_ Kiba shifted forward, an almost slithering motion as he slipped over the uneven ground, staying carefully under the cover of the bushes. His breathing deep and slow, keeping the rise and fall of his chest steady enough to breathe but slow enough to dismiss should it catch anyone's eye. Taking a deep breath through his nose, Kiba allowed a slow, feral smile to form. _'Got you.'_

The Genin reached up, oh-so-carefully, and laid his hand on his left shoulder. The small insect barely hesitated before crawling onto the rough fingers, and then Kiba angled his hand, allowing the tiny creature to feel the shift in angle. Immediately the bug flew away, and long moments later a different colored insect returned to him. Akamaru howled in the distance, and Kiba grinned wider, mentally beginning the countdown. _'Three, two, one…'_

As the bells of the Hokage Tower struck six, the Genin slid out from hiding. At forty-five degree angles from straight ahead, Shino and Hinata did the same, and all three Genin smiled. Kiba laughed. "We made it, Kurenai-Sensei. We kept track of you the whole time."

A ripple in the air, and an elegant red-eyed woman smiled at her students. "You did indeed – though I knew you were there. Still, not bad… for Genin."

Hinata giggled as Kiba wrinkled his nose in disgust, while Shino bowed slightly in understanding. They had a lot to learn, but… this was fun!

* * *

Naruto tossed Kakashi a cheeky grin, laughter bubbling up despite the harsh panting of his breath. "So… Sensei… what next?"

Kakashi groaned. "We've been out here all day - aren't you tired yet?"

The blond's grin only widened, and at the edge of the practice arena Sakura snorted. "Please" the medic called out, never taking her eyes from the textbook in her lap. "Face it, Kakashi-Sensei, Naruto's got way more chakra and energy than you. He'll keep going for as long as you'll keep teaching him."

The Jounin shot the girl a mild glare. "If you've recovered enough to tease, Sakura, then you need to be working on something useful – read on your own time." Rolling her eyes, the girl still put away her book.

Beside her, Sasuke unfolded from his seat. Still a little shaky from chakra exhaustion, the red of the Sharingan hidden for the moment, the quietest member of his team held out a hand to the medic. "Come on, Sakura, I'll show you those footwork exercises Itachi taught me." As the pink-haired girl stood, Sasuke called out towards the pair in the training area. "Naruto, if you want to send a clone or two, I'll teach you too."

Kakashi glanced at the Uchiha for a moment, thinking to himself that obviously Sasuke didn't have as good a grasp of ninjutsu as he'd thought – Bunshin wouldn't be any use in learning anything. But Naruto nodded, hands flashing through a series of seals, and then… Kakashi didn't react for an instant, and then his visible eye widened in shock. "When the hell did you learn Kage Bunshin?" he demanded.

All three of his Genin snickered. "Oh, about a week ago. I found this old scroll when I was filing paperwork for Granny Tsunade. I would've learned more, too, but Sakura-chan smacked me when she saw the seal on it. Apparently it was supposed to be classified. But I practiced it till I got it right – and I can make lots of clones."

Sasuke picked up the next part. "And of course, Naruto taught it to us – though Sakura can only manage one, and I can make about two and a half."

Sakura grinned as well as she added her two bits. "Sasuke-kun was the one who realized that anything a clone learned, we knew once it was dispelled, so we've been using that during training on our off days. Honestly, Sensei, try and keep up, okay?"

Kakashi growled – it had only been three weeks, and his team was already driving him up the wall. Turning back to the no longer panting Naruto, Kakashi braced himself. He _was_ going to wear this boy out – and then he was going to spend the rest of the evening drafting a training plan for the insolent brats. Obviously, he hadn't been working them hard enough.

* * *

The Tower room was silent except for the shuffling of paper, the two women quiet for the moment. Finally Shizune spoke. "Hokage-sama, what about this one?"

Tsunade glanced up, accepting a file willingly for once and skimming through the contents. She drummed fingers lightly on her thigh as she debated the appropriateness of the file in question. "Hm, high C, possibly low B rank, though we would probably know by now if anything really nasty was going on. Danzo had it ranked as low threat… it's perfect. Call in Team 8, they've got a mission."

* * *

Blonde and brunette heads bent together, the two girls sat side by side, both completely absorbed in the materials in front of them. But that didn't stop the brunette from flinging a kunai at the dark haired boy who lunged towards them. A sharp cry and an abrupt change in direction saved him from being skewered, and the brunette glanced up at the familiar voice. Tenten cringed. "Oops, sorry Lee. You alright?"

Flashing the girls a brilliant smile, the teen gave a thumbs-up. "Yes, fine, thank you. And I'm sorry for startling you. But Neji said that he had something that he wanted to show us, so I told him that I would find you. He's waiting for us at the Hyuuga House. Just between us, I think that he's finally mastered that 'Ultimate Defense' he's been working on."

With a nod, the weapons specialist gave her companion an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Ino, but-"

The blue-eyed girl waved it off, already rolling up the assorted bandages spread over the picnic table. "It's fine, go ahead. We'll do some more later, okay?"

As the older teens walked away, Lee couldn't contain his curiosity. "So, Tenten, what were you working on – if it's not a secret, that is."

The brunette laughed as she shook her head. "Field aid – my chakra control isn't good enough for medical jutsu, but between you, Gai-Sensei and Neji, I figure any little bit will come in handy eventually."

Tipping his head back to watch the sky as they walked, for once not bouncing hyperactively, a rueful little smile crossed the taijutsu specialist's face. "Aah, you're probably right."

* * *

Days from Konoha, a scarred man closed his eyes, silently praying that his plan would succeed. It was risky – insane even – but if there was any chance that the new Hokage held more to Konoha's old values than those of the Fifth… The Kazekage released the hawk, watching it fly until it disappeared into the horizon.


	5. Arc 2: Missions! Ch 1

**A/N:** The next chapter, and the start of the second arc – but more importantly, the start of the plot. And about that… the plot is going to get pretty complicated (if I can pull it off right) with later missions interweaving and relating back to each other. So I've put up a poll to let you guys vote on what would be easiest format for you to keep track of, as I seem to have a habit of confusing some readers. Vote, please? Or not – but don't complain later if you don't.

Anyway, thanks go out to: **NarutoVixen, iNsAnE nO bAkA, mountainelements, Alchemist Astrid, tearfularcher, DarkRavie, deviltiger, Rangerfan58** and **ryu-ren**. Now, read and enjoy.

* * *

Red eyes glanced to the sky as a hawk circled overhead, the distinctive bands on the bird's legs glinting in the afternoon light. Kurenai smiled, holding up one hand to halt her team. "Well, it looks like the Hokage wants to see us, so we'll have to cut our session short for today."

Hinata and Shino nodded seriously, while Kiba heaved a sigh of relief. "Great. I was getting really sick of the stupid flowers." The boy muttered, and Hinata stifled a chuckle.

Shino spoke up as they gathered their packs, and from his voice his teammates were sure that he was smirking behind his collar. "Kiba-kun, if you did not like Hinata-kun's flower field, then I could have given you a different genjutsu to try and break free of. I'm certain that it would not have hurt Hinata-kun's feelings to work with Kurenai-Sensei."

Kurenai shook her head in amusement as the young tracker gave his stoic teammate a wary glance, waving his hands in denial. "No, no, the flowers are fine. Really, I'm good."

Yes, her Genin were certainly interesting – and had somehow grown even more so since they had left the underground realm of Sanctuary's corridors. It seemed that the open air and free access to sunshine – or, more likely, the absence of the fear that the children had known their entire lives – had encouraged their personalities to blossom, enhancing traits inside of them which had been kept largely under control while in hiding.

The two boys bickered lightly, Kiba making teasing comments to which Shino responded with mild sarcasm, but their voices were easy, with no real heat in their tone. Hinata occasionally dropped a line or so of her own – rare, but clever enough to make whichever teammate was _not_ being teased snicker. And so Team 8 passed the trip to the Hokage tower peacefully, if not quietly.

* * *

Lee looked up curiously as Neji held out a package. "For me?"

The quieter boy nodded. "From Gai-Sensei. Something about helping your training."

"He said that? Really?"

Neji winced. "Actually, he rambled for about fifteen minutes, but that was the gist of it." Lee's smile was nearly blinding as he all but snatched the package from his teammate. Almost thrumming with anticipation, the excitable taijutsu specialist had to restrain himself from just ripping the top off of the small box. Even Neji leaned in to see what their… eccentric… teacher had given his protégé.

Lee nearly whooped with glee as he pulled out the arm and leg bracers, his black eyes sparkling as he hefted them in his hands. "These are much heavier than the ones I've been wearing – I can't believe that he's allowing me to advance already!" At Neji's glance, Lee laughingly explained. "Ah, I forgot, you two aren't doing this. Gai-Sensei has me wearing weighted wraps so that my body will be able to move much faster when I do take them off."

The blue-eyed boy nodded his understanding and they both turned back to the box. Lee reached in to remove the last item, and both teens blinked in shock, words utterly failing them. Finally Neji cleared his throat. "Lee, do you remember what Sensei said when Naruto brought home that… orange monstrosity he called a jumpsuit?"

Lee nodded numbly, never taking his eyes off of the bright green spandex in his hands. "Um, something about… carving it off one strip at a time if Sensei ever caught him wearing it…?"

"Yeah, that's it… Lee, if you ever inflict that on Tenten and I…" Without another word, Lee folded the bodysuit and set it back in the box.

* * *

Team 8 stood loosely at attention, waiting respectfully for their Hokage to pull her nose out of the papers in front of her. When Tsunade finally looked up, she gestured them all closer. "All right, brats. Congratulations – you're the first of your group to get a 'real mission' as some of you keep saying." Kurenai hid her smile as the Genin perked up, suddenly eager. Tsunade didn't bother to hide hers.

"Calm down, it's not a big thing. Technically, it's ranked high C, but that was a while ago. Thing is, some of the merchants that Konoha used to trade with in Wave Country suddenly dropped all communication, and we'd like to know why. That's where you come in – you're training to be an information-gathering team, so it should be perfect for you. There hasn't been any trouble out of Wave in the three years since then, so it should be a fairly stable situation, whatever's going on."

The blonde waved her hand at a packet of papers on the corner of her desk, and Kurenai flipped briefly through the file as Tsunade continued. "There's more detail in the mission briefing there, but basically your mission is this: get in, find out what's happened, and get out again. Call for another team if you think you can't handle it. Any questions?"

To everyone's surprise, Kiba raised his hand. The boy grinned as he was gestured to speak. "When do we leave, Hokage-sama?"

* * *

Sai eased himself into position, hands moving fluidly across the scroll but never taking his eyes off of his target. The softest brush of fingertips against paper, and the serpents he'd drawn rose up and slithered away. The ex-ROOT operative quietly traded his pen for one of the kunai in his belt, creeping forward once he saw the smallest flicker of black against green – his creations were in position. Still Sai held his place, watching and waiting until his prey turned just so…

The boy lunged, serpents striking out at the same instant to tangle the feet of the kunoichi, keeping the woman from running for that precious split-second. She was fast, kunai flashing even as her flip kick knocked away one of his drawings. Sai hissed as his snake melted away – she must've reinforced the attack with chakra. Even with her feet still tangled with his second serpent, the woman still fought, spending three long minutes of Sai's time.

Finally the teenager caught her with an open-handed strike to her kidney, shifting her center of balance enough for his next attack to overbalance and send her to the ground. Once she hit, his last serpent rushed out of hiding to wrap itself around her neck. The ink weapon sank fangs into his target at the same moment that Sai drove his blade into her gut.

He was left panting, dizzy from a knock to the head – and then he heard a voice come from out of nowhere. "Not bad, boy."

The air around him wavered, and then the wooded area dissolved as the genjutsu was broken. Sai glanced up to see Boar removing one hand from both Hare and Sai's own shoulders, while Drake leaned in eagerly. "Well?"

Hare laughed, reaching out to clap Sai's shoulder. "Well, he got me. I say we keep him – what do you say, Boar?"

The older man – now the third squad's Captain, with Kakashi's retirement – regarded the teenager for a long moment. "If he wishes it, I have no problem with accepting him into the squad." Hare patted him again, and Drake reached out to ruffle his hair – gestures that he was slowly learning were good things – and Boar offered him a hand. "What say you, Sai?"

The teenager took that hand, allowing the older man to pull him to his feet as he smiled. "I say, I would be honored."

* * *

The brunette ground her teeth, fighting the urge to turn and snap. It was bad enough that she was having trouble getting this set of weapons to seal into her scrolls, but Tenten could_ feel_ someone watching her, and the combined aggravation was really starting to take its toll.

Finally she couldn't stand it anymore, and her irritation only spiked higher when she turned and realized that her watcher was the so-called 'Toad Sage' from the revolution. "And what, exactly, are you staring at?" she demanded, swinging her legs around the bench and leaning back against the picnic table she'd been working on. Folding her arms across her chest, she sent a challenging glare at the white-haired weirdo.

The man only smirked. "Just watching you mess up your seals. It'll never work that way, you know."

Instinctively bristling at the slightly superior attitude of the man she had been told was such an awe-inspiring shinobi, Tenten allowed a bit more anger into her voice. "Oh, and I suppose that you could do better, huh?"

The older shinobi's smirk only widened, and he struck what was, to Tenten, a rather ridiculous pose. "Of course I could, little girl. I'm Jiraiya, the Legendary Toad Sage of the Sannin!" The man's words, rather than fan the Genin's temper, cooled her as effectively as a dunking in cold water.

The girl looked the man straight in the eye, her voice serious as she spoke again. "If you're so legendary, then where were you when Konoha needed you? When people hoped and prayed for a hero? _Tch_. Legendary my foot. If you ask me, you're a has-been at best – and a coward at worst."

Ignoring the stunned expression on the Sannin's face, the shock and… hurt… in his eyes, Tenten turned back to her scrolls. Back to the man, her entire body language spoke of dismissal as she brushed his presence off like so much dust.

A few long minutes passed studying her scrolls before she tried again to seal the collection of assorted weapons into the paper, again without success. Quiet footsteps sounded right before a shadow fell over her paper, and Tenten felt the smallest spark of irritation as the Toad Sage leaned over her work, studying the runes carefully.

One calloused finger reached out, tracing a line of ink. "Here" he told her, his voice seeming far too subdued for the brash, flashy man that had arrived with a giant red frog and a curtain of smoke. "This one's your problem. With the curve of your weapon's hilt, you've got to alter this line… hand me that brush, I'll show you."

Reluctantly, Tenten handed over her calligraphy brush. The pair spent the next three hours quietly discussing seals, and why certain ones would or wouldn't work for her purposes. Tenten left with a new appreciation for the older man, and Jiraiya left with a more humbled spirit – and an appointment with a certain brunette Genin to work on more complex seal theories in three days.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed, eyes nearly crossing as he tried to focus on the fine edge of his weapon. Trying to master this trick of Asuma's, using chakra to sharpen the edge of their weapons and increase the speed and force behind them, was giving him a headache.

The concept wasn't hard – rather simple, actually – but the practice was proving to be more difficult than he'd expected. Honing his chakra to a fine edge was hard enough, but keeping a smooth, sharp, even flow… "Troublesome" the genius muttered, much to his teacher's amusement.

"What's wrong, Shika? Having trouble?" Shikamaru just threw the man a mildly reproachful look, not even bothering to reply.

Ino, however, heaved a sigh. "I am, Asuma-Sensei. This wind-based addition to my Mind-Body-Transfer is giving me all sorts of trouble. I keep either allowing it to shift and throwing off my aim, or using too much wind and shoving myself past my target – and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong!"

Chouji glanced up from his position on the ground, taking his eyes off of his own weapons as he agreed with the kunoichi. "Yeah, she hasn't managed to possess me once today – and that's really not like her." The heavyset boy flinched at the glare directed at him for the comment, immediately going back to trying to infuse his kunai with chakra.

Shikamaru just shook his head. "Troublesome" he muttered again.

* * *

Iruka settled into his seat, sipping lightly on his tea as he waited for his guest to tell him what he needed. Itachi didn't always speak, but the stoic young man had little signs, the smallest of hints that Iruka had long ago learned to read. The Academy teacher hid a smile – had anyone passed by, they would surely have been startled to see the Chunin sitting so comfortably with an ANBU officer in full garb.

Bit by bit, the younger man relaxed, apparently needing nothing more today than to sit quietly with a friend. And that was fine, too.

Truth be told, it was a little comforting to Iruka as well – after so many years in such close quarters, it felt odd to be out in the open. Many times he felt terribly exposed, as if there were eyes on him and nowhere to hide – and he couldn't deny that he missed his kids. Sure they met up in small groups regularly, but still… There was a place inside of him that felt slightly empty, just a little hollow and sad. He was no longer a part of his little ones' daily lives, and they seemed to grow up so fast in between visits.

With a sudden understanding, he realized that Itachi, and probably Hana, knew that – and that was why one or another of them had been stopping by so often. His smile was warm, if not a little wistful. "Am I that obvious, Itachi-kun? That the two of you need to check up on me?" Iruka asked.

The younger man gave the smallest of head shakes, lips turning slightly into a brief semblance of a smile. "No, Sensei. But it is… difficult… to have what was once a large part of your life suddenly become… smaller. Much smaller. Hana and I have been there, long ago, and are simply returning a favor done for us in those days."

Iruka smiled for real then, and the two unlikely friends sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the teacher's lunch break.

* * *

Naruto sighed, fighting the urge to fidget as he listlessly shuffled papers. Between his and Sakura's Kage Bunshin – mostly his, but hey, she helped – they'd gotten most of the filing done during one of Tsunade's meetings, so now you could actually see the Hokage's desk. The blonde had done a double-take when she'd seen the actual color of her desktop – it was a half shade lighter than the rest of the desk.

But now he was bored. Sakura wasn't any help, she had her nose buried in one of her medical texts, but he couldn't work on those – he had too much chakra to hone it down finely enough to do a delicate task like stitching muscle.

He drummed fingers restlessly, but stilled his hands at his teammate's glare. A moment later, all three figures stilled as they heard rushed footsteps in the hall. The two Genin exchanged glances, and then Sakura put away her book as Naruto rushed to open the door at Tsunade's gesture. A flustered Shizune rushed in, her hands clutched around a message scroll. "Hokage-sama, we have a message!" the breathless medic huffed.

Tsunade merely raised one blonde brow. "Yes, I can see that, Shizune."

The younger woman shook her head, holding out the scroll in one hand. "No, Tsunade-sama… it's from the Kazekage."

Four sets of eyes exchanged glances, and then Tsunade took and carefully unrolled the message. All three subordinates stood silent, barely breathing as they waited for their leader to de-code the message. A moment later, serious brown eyes met theirs. "Naruto, Sakura, go get Hatake and the Uchiha kid. I'm going to Suna – and you're going with me."


	6. Missions!: Chapter 2

**A/N:** Okay, this is the last 'filler' chapter for a while – though there were a couple of parts that weren't filler. Things get to start heating up now, and the trouble begins. FYI, I think this is going to be even longer than I originally anticipated.

Note: This is AU (so I don't own Naruto, or it would be canon) and 'Zanzou' means 'afterimage'.

Anyway, thanks go out to: **NarutoVixen, iNsAnE nO bAkA, mountainelements, micah.n10, x-smith, umino-gaara, DarkRavie, deviltiger, Wing Moon, jazzy2may, The Laughing Phoenix** and **arimi-yume**. Now, read and enjoy.

* * *

The house was dark, solid objects becoming merely hazy spots of deeper shadow scattered throughout the room. It was that peculiar time of the dawn when the sky lightened enough for the night birds to retire, but the day had yet to break and wake the morning singers. All should have been still, and it was… all except for one indistinct figure, moving with a sure, silent grace.

Tsume growled low in her throat as she spotted the figure through the window of her kitchen. Her Jounin uniform was torn and stained, a two-week long mission just now behind her as of about five minutes ago, and now someone was in the house with her children! A small part of the tracker's mind wondered why Akamaru was not sounding an alarm, but the majority of her was focused on slipping up behind the intruder.

Carefully, carefully… A slow, smooth motion allowed her to draw her kunai silently, her breathing light enough not to be heard. She couldn't see, it was too dark, and her nose still burned with the after effect of that damn enemies' powder… she could only hope that the bastard hadn't yet injured one of her babies. Closer, quieter, keep the intruder from noticing… "Welcome back, mom." Tsume froze at the low voice, eyes widening as the 'intruder' did not turn to face her but continued to speak in a near whisper. "Glad you made it back – we've got our first team mission. We're going to be gone a while, so I'm glad I got to let you know. Hana's sleeping – she had a tough day yesterday, so I'm just going to let her rest, okay?"

The teenager turned to face her then, the lightening sky allowing the rough, familiar features to finally come into view. To his credit, Kiba only looked for a moment at the kunai in her hand, and then he rolled his eyes. "Mom, please, go to bed – you're being paranoid. Anyway, I've gotta go. Love you, later, bye."

After a long moment of surprise, Tsume couldn't help but chuckle – he'd known she was there all along.

* * *

Naruto fidgeted slightly, feeling both anxious and excited. To his left, Iruka gave the blond Genin a fond smile. "Relax, Naruto, you'll all do fine, I'm sure of it."

The boy flashed a bright grin. "Oh, I know we will, Sensei, it's just…" The smile faltered for an instant. "I've never been out of Konoha, Sensei. Never been so far from you or everybody else, either. It… feels kinda weird."

"I'm looking forward to it." Naruto jumped as the quiet voice spoke from the shadows a few steps away, and Sasuke stepped onto the road, lips twisted in a smirk. "What's wrong, scaredycat, homesick already?"

Naruto howled in outrage, stepping forward only to be smacked by a flying… bandage roll? Iruka hid his grin as Sakura glared at her two teammates. "Honestly, can't you two shut it – it's way too early for this!"

A low chuckle sounded anyway, letting the four know that Kakashi had arrived at some point. Naruto grinned at Sakura. "What's the matter, Sakura-chan, not a morning person?"

Before the medic could explode, Sasuke cleared his throat. "So, Sensei, what did you have to do to get _Naruto_ up so early?"

The blond's face paled as Iruka allowed a matching smirk to grace his lips. "Not fair – Sensei, you wouldn't, right? _Right_?" Just for fun, Iruka opened his mouth, only to be jumped on by his all-but-adopted son. "NO! Sensei, don't you dare!"

All five shinobi present – even Naruto, once Iruka had agreed not to speak – were amused, laughing brightly as the Hokage arrived. The blonde just raised one eyebrow, sighed, and shook her head.

* * *

The kunoichi moved at a steady pace, her attention split between her surroundings, the voices of those she followed, and the ground behind her. She hesitated for a step, cautiously moving forward – and then she sighed. "Hinata, is something wrong?" Kurenai's voice was a trifle concerned, the Jounin stopping to make her student come back onto the road and face her.

Red eyes searched blue ones, and Hinata blushed. "Um, nothing really, Kurenai-sensei. I was just… Itachi-san is teaching Sasuke-kun and I how to track and avoid being tracked, so I've been trying not to leave a trail as we travel – and I just misjudged the ground and left a bit of a footprint, that's all."

Kurenai blinked, and then shook her head as Kiba chuckled. The Jounin murmured through her smile. "The Hokage has it right… I really do have to stop thinking of you all as Genin." Hinata blushed brighter, but all three of the teenagers laughed, and after a moment, their teacher joined them.

Shino sobered his quiet chuckles first, and turned to his shyer teammate. "Well if you are practicing, Hinata, may we join the session?"

The girl brightened immediately. "Of course – here, you start by shifting your weight like this…"

* * *

Shikamaru moved into position, one sharp glance taking in the distances between the trees around him and the slope of the ground. Another blink calculated possible paths, mentally measuring the angles needed to pass safely between obstacles. A low rumble brought a smirk to the young tactician's lips, hands rising in a pattern as familiar to him as his own name. That was when he felt it – the brief push against his mind.

His smirk broadened as he relaxed, allowing easier entrance for his teammate. Ino took hold of his body for an instant, turning his right foot just _so_ before releasing him. Leaving his foot exactly where it had been placed, Shikamaru turned his upper body back towards to approaching rumbling sound. He only had a heartbeat to wait before a round, spinning mass – usually known as his other teammate, Chouji – crashed through the trees to his back and left.

Fingers finished their seals, shadows reached out to cradle the spinning mass of attack – and Shikamaru pivoted sharply to his right, rocking forward directly over his right foot and releasing his hands.

The effect was just as they'd hoped – the brief tug wasn't enough to significantly slow Chouji's attack, but the snap of Shikamaru's pivot and the sudden release of the hold flung the heavier boy forward like a slingshot. The speed and force of his attack nearly tripled, and Shikamaru heard Ino cheer wildly from the branches overhead. "We _DID IT_! Oh, yeah! Take _THAT_!"

Amusement thick in his voice, he still had to call out. "Don't cheer yet, Ino, we don't know if we were on target."

Right about that time, they both heard an alarmed shout from their right. "What the_ HELL_?" Both Genin doubled over laughing.

Asuma stared wide-eyed at the overweight boy sitting on the ground in front of him – holding his cigar. "Bull's-eye" the boy called between his own chuckles. The only response was more laughter.

* * *

Mikoto glanced up, looking through the window as a sudden movement caught her eye. She blinked, fighting the urge to rub her eyes as she saw Itachi standing in the front yard… talking to a _girl_! But then the girl shifted, and the mother's shoulders slumped slightly. It was just Hana.

Still, she put on a smile as the pair entered the house… though it faltered when she saw their faces. The wild, toothy grin on the Inuzuka girl wasn't that unusual, but… the bright amusement in Itachi's eyes _was_. "Mother" her oldest son stated, clear humor in his voice. "I have to go – a comrade of mine is about to do something very stupid, and I want to be there to watch."

Mikoto could only stare dumbfounded as the younger pair walked away, Hana snickering out loud as Itachi… grinned.

* * *

Tenten smirked, but she ducked her head to hide the expression as she snapped out her scrolls. A practiced flick of her wrists sent the paper unwinding in graceful arcs, the twisting motion of her body causing the arcs to spiral around her as she reached the apex of her jump. And then… a sharp gesture, a gasp of surprise, and a teammate frantically dodging the sudden rain of sharp, heavy steel.

The kunoichi laughed in delight as Neji swore, his Ultimate Defense tested to its limit. Lee dropped out of his stance, nearly getting hit directly in the face by Gai as the boy stared open-mouthed – and then cheered wildly. "YEAH! GET HIM, TENTEN! THAT'S IT; YOU'VE GOT HIM ON THE ROPES! YES, YES, _YES_!"

Frustrated, Neji snarled. "Lee, SHUT UP!" The excitable boy just grinned, cringing slightly as their Sensei's voice boomed out over him. Finally the rain of weapons ended, the girl landing on the ground and spinning back towards her opponent. Neji smirked, his spin slowing to a stop as he shifted to an offensive stance. Tenten smirked right back, channeling chakra into a specific seal on each of her scrolls.

Lee and Gai went ballistic – a part of Tenten worried that they would hurt themselves in their enthusiasm – and Neji's jaw dropped in shock. The weapons scattered on the ground flared… and returned to the scrolls.

Laughing, the kunoichi called out. "Heads up, Neji!" And a flick of the wrist sent the paper winding back out.

* * *

Iruka knocked softly, mindful of the possibility that the other might be involved in some delicate task. Once permission to enter had been called, the Chunin stepped through the double doors, eyes automatically assessing the room. He was impressed – the desk had a small mountain covering it, but the last time he'd been in the Hokage's office, he could barely see the floor for all the paperwork strewn about the room.

Bringing his gaze back to the dark-haired medic waiting for him to speak, Iruka ducked his head in a brief acknowledgement of the power temporarily wielded by the Hokage's assistant. "Shizune-san, I, um… I came to offer my help after class, if you could use it. Naruto's told me about how much you all have to do every day. I'm not very familiar with paperwork, but I've got two good hands, and…" the Chunin trailed off as he noticed the incredulous look on the medic's face, and he blushed. "Oh, um, never mind. Sorry."

Iruka took one step back, turning to leave as he mentally berated himself for assuming that he would have the clearance to do any work in the Hokage's office, of all places. He was two steps from the door when he choked, snatched back by the collar of his uniform.

"Oh no you don't Umino!" Shizune scolded, all but dragging the teacher backwards. "You do not come in here, offer salvation and then walk away!" Finally letting go, the medic grabbed a stack of papers and shoved them into his arms. "Today, you learn – tomorrow you work!"

* * *

From the Hokage's hidden escape route, Itachi ducked his head. Eyes shining with mirth, the ANBU Captain held one finger up to his lips, wordlessly reminding Hana to silence her laughter. Once the two had crept away and were well out of earshot, Hana poked him playfully. "So, was it worth dropping your dignity and being childish for a bit?"

Still fighting to control his snickers, Itachi smirked. "Absolutely."

* * *

Team 7 moved at a moderate, ground-eating pace as they traveled through the forest. Kakashi used the first part of the journey to teach his team how to flank out in a protective formation around a high-profile target. Tsunade rolled her eyes and grumbled that if it came to trouble, she would end up protecting them. No one mentioned the ANBU team that they knew were the primary escorts, even if they couldn't see them. Kakashi's lips twitched under his mask as he caught sight of the newbie on the squad, the plain white facemask a dead giveaway. 'Still' he thought, 'new member or not, my squad's still one of the best – and I bet Ibiki assumes that I'll work best with them if it worst comes to worst. …sad thing is, he's right.'

To be perfectly honest, Kakashi was very impressed with Naruto – it took ten whole miles before the Genin asked if now 'Granny' could tell them why they were going to Suna. The fact that the blond successfully dodged a punch from said leader didn't hurt, either.

Tsunade grumbled, but as they made camp later that evening, she gathered the team close. "We're going to Suna because the Hidden Sand Village has asked to re-open negotiations with Leaf. From what my sources have said, they're in pretty serious trouble…"

* * *

The young man stood quietly on the balcony, the only outward sign of his conflict the hands clenching restlessly on the rails. Dark eyes peered up at the full moon, ignoring the sleeping city below him, structures washed almost white in the moonlight. Almost clean. "Konoha" the seventeen year old murmured, his voice torn between wistfulness and bitter regret. "The mission they failed before it ever started. And… that's what _he_ was born for, wasn't it? …" Shielded eyes slid closed, but the gentle light of the moon could not erase the memory of the hot sun beating down on dark hair.

_: "I really don't think this is a good idea – they said it's dangerous!" the child called, hoping against hope that the older one running before him would come back._

_For a moment, it seemed that wish had been granted as the running child spun around to face the younger one. But then the little kunoichi-to-be glared, hands fisting on her hips in a gesture her brother knew all too well. "Oh, come on 'Kuro, quit being a whiney-baby. If you're that scared, then go back – but I wanna see the weapon."_

_Heaving a sigh that seemed much too big to come from such a small chest, the child nonetheless hurried after his sister. By the time he caught up to her, the little blonde had dropped to her stomach, lying flat on top of a pile of boxes that Kankuro scrambled to climb up on. He was just glad that it wasn't a rooftop – Temari was fond of jumping up to the high paths now that she could. Part of Kankuro was excited to start shinobi training next month, thrilled at the idea of being able to keep up with the blonde – but part of him dreaded it, too. Temari was already making eager comments about being sparring partners, but he didn't want to fight his sister – she'd kick his butt._

_He eyed the older girl for a moment before pulling himself up on the last box, wondering if he really wanted to get mixed up in whatever she was up to this time. But the seven year old reminded himself that she was his sister, and climbed up beside her. He found himself looking down on an almost empty street, the only occupant being a tiny redheaded child likely only four or five years old. The child's head was bowed, seemingly staring down at the rubber ball held in his small hands._

_Temari scoffed. "That's it? THAT little thing is the weapon everyone's so scared of? Tch. Please. He's not scary." Kankuro squeaked in shock, snatching vainly for his sister's shirt as she JUMPED OFF THE BOX!_

_The little girl landed on the street below, stumbling slightly from the height of the drop, and her brother could only watch in wide-eyed horror as she called out. "Hey, toss it here."_

_The little redhead blinked, not seeming to understand. Temari, always easily agitated, huffed and gestured at the ball. "Toss it here." The little boy hesitantly tossed the ball in her direction, and all three children watched as it rolled to a stop… six feet from Temari's position._

_The girl huffed again, all but stalking forward and snatching up the ball. "Not like that, dummy, like this." And she bounced the ball off of the street towards the younger boy._

_The redhead didn't raise his hands as the ball came at him – instead, sand swirled up around his feet and captured the ball. Kankuro made a small, strangled sound, and even Temari flinched. But the girl held her ground, gesturing again at the ball. "Okay, you're supposed to bounce it back now."_

_One, two slow blinks – and the boy's expression lit up. His little face scrunched in concentration, clearly determined to copy the older one's exact motions, the child reached out for the ball and carefully bounced it down the street._

_Temari reached for the ball – only to yelp in shock as her hand was snatched in mid-reach by a larger, rougher one. The girl nearly cowered as she looked up into the glaring eyes of her father, and the man shoved her behind him. "Stay there!" he snarled._

_At the same moment, running footsteps sounded and a blond man raced around the corner of the street. "Gaara-sama!... Kazekage-sama?"_

_The blond dropped a hasty bow to his leader, and the three children stood stunned as the Kazekage snatched the blond man by his shirt, shoving him up against a wall as he snarled something low in the other's face. The blond man blanched, his hurried words too fast and low for the children to hear, but his expression was clearly shaken when his leader released him. The little redhead – Gaara? – flinched away as the Kazekage stormed by, snatching Temari by the wrist and nearly dragging the girl behind him as she ran to keep up, body twisted at an awkward angle with her left arm extended across her chest._

_Kankuro stayed utterly still, hardly daring to breathe as Gaara fretted gently over the blond man. The stranger shushed the boy, quickly ushering him out of the street, and the last thing that Kankuro heard was the redhead's voice, filled with wonder. "Yashamaru, who was… that girl?" :_

Eyes opening again, Kankuro muttered as he stared without really seeing the city. "Yeah, Gaara was created to destroy Konoha… what the _hell_ were they thinking?"


	7. Missions!: Chapter 3

**A/N:** Sorry that this is taking so long, everyone. But I'm still using my brother's computer, and he's pretty busy with school and stuff. His college is a little more important than my writing. Anyway, short chapter again, but thanks go out to: **Rangerfan58, arimi-yume, deviltiger, The Laughing Phoenix, iNsAnE nO bAkA, DarkRavie**, . Thank you all for hanging in here with me.

* * *

Naruto sobered, straightening and instinctively falling into a protective formation with his teammates as the glimmer of sun on sand appeared in the distance. "Suna's sending a representative to meet us, right?" Sakura asked, her voice nervous though her eyes were steady.

Kakashi nodded absently. "Yes, they're meeting us at the edge of the desert at eight tomorrow. But after we make camp, I'd suggest you practice moving on sand – it has a much different texture and consistency than earth, and it shifts beneath you." The Genin nodded seriously, using their teacher's greater experience to their advantage.

Tsunade watched the group with interest. Of all the adults – excluding Umino, of course – Kakashi had been around the children longest, and it showed in his interaction with them. But it was the Genin themselves that held the Hokage's astonishment. At their teacher's advice, Naruto raised one hand, fingers curling into a familiar sign – but he glanced questioningly at his comrades before continuing the Kage Bunshin. Sasuke shook his head once, fingers uncurling near his leg to show the palm of the hand nearest the blond. Sakura smiled, echoing the gesture, but then her hand shifted, the outer edge pointing skyward and then back down.

Tsunade smirked. _'She's reminding him not to risk a chakra spike'_ the blonde realized as Naruto grimaced, dropping his hand as he nodded. The entire exchange had taken less than three seconds, and had been completely silent.

A few steps away, Kakashi caught her attention, giving her a shrug as his eye curved into that suggestion of a smile. She waved the Genin on ahead, dropping back to talk to their teacher and unable to help but be bemused. "Are they always like that?" she asked, curious as to just how well the group already worked together.

Kakashi shrugged. "Sasuke and Naruto, yeah, pretty much. Sakura's not at that level consistently yet – she hasn't been with them as long – but she's learning fast. It won't be long before they hold entire conversations with a look and maybe a shift of weight. The boys already do, to an extent. You've got to remember, those two were Iruka's first, so they've been together more than they've ever been apart."

She shook her head in mock-exasperation. "Gyah, what am I going to do with their generation?"

But to her surprise, Kakashi glanced ahead to his students. The man waited until they were well out of earshot, and answered her much more seriously. "Split them up. Once they've learned what they need, once we're back on track, mix them with Academy-trained shinobi. Force them to interact with comrades that they haven't lived and trained with – incorporate them into the ranks. Tsunade-sama, we can't help it right now, but we _have_ to break this segregation that they've developed."

Sobering at his tone, Tsunade immediately clarified his meaning. "You think that they won't work with others?"

Kakashi shook his head in denial. "I think that they _can't_. Hokage-sama, when Sakura first came to stay, all I heard from her near the others was 'what did I miss' or 'what are we doing'. She adapted, but it took her almost a year to learn those little shifts and gestures – and that was living with them. They've got their own signals and meanings, and they're so accustomed to using those that they'll leave you clueless without even realizing it."

The blonde sighed. "Damn. I should've known it was too good to be true."

* * *

Iruka gulped, nervously eyeing the small mountain of paper sitting in front of him. "Um, Shizune-san… where did it all _come_ from?"

The weary medic smiled, but there was a distinct lack of mirth in the expression. "From all over Konoha and some places outside of it. It's not as bad as it looks though; a lot of it just has to be sorted and sent to the proper department for them to go over. Honestly, Naruto-kun's Kage Bunshin have been a life-saver – it gets the sorting over with quickly so that we can focus on what we actually do rather than slog through what gets sent to us – but without that kind of massive force, it just piles up faster than we can get to it. But anyway, if you'll start sorting, I'll start working on what I can handle. Chances are most of the important stuff can wait until Tsunade-sama gets back, and we can deal with the small stuff."

Iruka hummed, already sifting through stacks of forms. "And if something important comes up suddenly?"

Shizune paused, thought for a moment and finally shrugged. "Then we call in whoever has experience in a relevant area, make a decision and hope that it works out well enough that Tsunade-sama doesn't kill us when she gets back."

* * *

The group slowed, a gesture from the kunoichi in front signaling them all to come to rest. Kurenai waited the short moment it took for her team to gather around her, and then she straightened her shoulders, letting a more serious countenance come over her face. "Alright" she told them, her voice quiet but firm. "We'll be reaching the port soon – does everyone have the cover story down?" The three teenagers nodded seriously, even Akamaru yapping softly. Another gesture sent the group splitting up, each reaching into their packs for the civilian clothing they would wear for the rest of the mission.

When they regrouped, Kurenai ran a critical eye over her Genin. All four shinobi wore dark grey pants, the boys' in a cargo style with pockets liberally placed. Kiba's light brown and Shino's pale grey shirts matched, but also made the boys nearly blend in with the fog rolling in from the water. But it was the kunoichi's dress that gave her a sharp sense of satisfaction. Their eyes would be the biggest risk for drawing attention, and their sleeveless tunics, small pockets along the bottom edge, managed to lessen that possibility. Hinata's navy blue made her eyes seem more white, while Kurenai's darker brown made the red tint of her own eyes less obvious.

Without being told, the Genin carefully stashed weapons, glancing to their teacher to make certain that their arms were not visible. Shino reached into his bag again, handing Hinata a spare pair of his sunglasses, and a gesture from Kiba sent Akamaru to the girl's side. As Hinata put on the glasses, Kiba handed her a leash matching his partner's new collar. Kurenai nodded again in approval as the girl reached out to hold lightly onto the nin-dog. The young kunoichi looked blind, and after spending the last three evenings practicing allowing Akamaru to 'guide' her, she could act the part as well.

Pulling the side sections of her hair into a small knot at the back of her head, the Jounin tsked slightly over Hinata's hair – just barely brushing the girl's shoulders, it wasn't long enough to justify putting up. When her students looked at her in confusion over the comment, she smiled. Reaching up and pulling a hair stick out of her newly-placed knot, Kurenai flipped it in her hand – and flung it, burying the pointed end deep into the bark of a nearby tree.

As her Genin gaped, Kurenai patted the younger kunoichi on the shoulder, not bothering to hide her smile. "Six inches of painted steel, sweetheart – and no one will ever think anything about a woman wearing them in plain sight."

Shino wordlessly retrieved the ornament for her, as Hinata thoughtfully fingered the ends of her own hair. Kiba, however, turned a serious and slightly nervous look on his teacher. "Sensei, I have one request. Please, don't _ever_ show my sister that!"

Both kunoichi laughed.

* * *

Kankuro stood at the outer edges of the camp, eyes turned into the desert twilight. He watched the setting sun stain the sand gold and purple and blood-red, wondering vaguely what the Konoha shinobi thought of his realm. He toyed idly with Sanshouo's strings, the defensive puppet clicking softly with each twang of the wires.

"Enough, Kankuro" came a voice from behind him. "Driving us mad won't make the morning come any sooner. Or make our task any easier to stomach."

The young man rolled his eyes, but his fingers obediently stilled on the strings. "Whatever, Isago."

The older Jounin glared for a moment, tempted to rebuke the teen for his insolence. But the man only stifled a sigh, reminding himself yet again that the boy had his reasons. Still, he wished that the younger Jounin had stayed at the Village with the rest of his squad – but the Kazekage had specifically sent the youngster on this job.

Isago just hoped that their careful plans did not fail. If they failed… Suna would fall.

* * *

Itachi stifled a sigh, not bothering to turn and face his guest. "You really need to stop reading those ridiculous guides. They are not iron-clad rules, and you are unnerving those around you when you attempt to follow them."

He could practically _hear_ the young ANBU blink, confused. "Your brother is away. I have read that families miss a loved one when they are away – a form of grief. Is it, then, not appropriate to bring a gift for consolation?"

Itachi twitched, finally turning. He fixed his eyes on the still, pale face – deliberately trying to avoid looking at the brightly colored bundle of flowers in the boy's hands. "Sai, I assure you, I need no consolation – and few male shinobi appreciate flowers. Especially such… bright ones. And before you even think about it – if you attempt to give those to my mother, she _will_ eviscerate you. Such a 'gift' implies that my brother will not be returning, and will not end well with any shinobi family. I do not suggest that you attempt such a thing with any of the other Genin's relatives."

As Itachi turned away, his lips twitched upward at the young agent's low murmur. "Hmm… is that why Haruno-san slapped me…?"

* * *

The fog rolled in, the air heavy as the sun began to set. The group stood quietly on the shore, waiting for the boat they could hear puttering through the mist.

Kurenai sent one last speaking glance to her team, red eyes catching the nervous twist of Hinata's hand in Akamaru's fur, the tension in Kiba's shoulders and the more subtle stillness of Shino's form. But it _was_ all subtle, nothing that the average person would detect.

As the boat pulled onto the shore, the Jounin stepped forward, quietly requesting passage for herself and the teenagers. She felt the first trickle of unease as the ferryman looked at her as if she had lost her mind – but the Genin had already stepped onto the small boat, settling themselves as best they could around Akamaru. A part of their teacher was proud to note that Kiba made a show of 'helping' Hinata to find a seat.

She paid the ferry fee – a ridiculously high price, she'd have to be careful to ration the rest of their mission subsidy. The crew was solemn during the journey, the two hour trip passing in thoughtful silence. A meeting of eyes showed carefully hidden discomfort in her Genin – it startled her, until she reminded herself that all three were accustomed to operating in enemy territory, and some instincts were likely almost as honed as her own.

_Something wasn't right_. Kurenai was beginning to wonder if their mission had been ranked correctly – and they weren't even technically _in_ Wave yet.

The first of them to sight land was Akamaru, the nin-dog's head lifting to sniff at the wind. Hinata tensed, and Kiba turned to look at his partner. Kurenai eyed the three, aware of Shino doing the same. Hinata seemed to be trembling, her hand shaking slightly.

But then the Jounin realized that the hand resting in the younger kunoichi's lap was still – she wasn't shaking. Akamaru was growling.


	8. Missions!: Chapter 4

**A/N:** Got some unexpected free time today, so I had a chance to write more. The plot is picking up more, but I should probably warn you – this won't be as action packed as 'Shinkirou' was. It's more subtle. And complicated. I'm getting into unfamiliar ground here, so feel free to tell me if the cast starts getting OOC.

Anyway, I own nothing, and thanks go out to: **_firebirds416, arimi-yume, deviltiger, The Laughing Phoenix, iNsAnE nO bAkA, DarkRavie, InARealPickle, hyperemoninja, TatraMegami_** and _**mountainelements.**_

* * *

The tension in the air was suffocating, strangling. Team 8 walked through the streets of the Wave Country town as carefully as if it were a minefield. The sun had only just set, but… everything was shut down for the night. Everything. There were no shopkeepers packing away goods, no laborers going home for the night. Even the lights in the small bar were turned off, the sign on the door proclaiming it closed until morning. The streets were dark, many of the streetlights either burned out or busted, and shutters were tightly drawn over the windows of the houses.

If Team 8 had been a normal Genin squad, Kurenai would have turned around and taken them back to Konoha immediately – as it was, she was seriously debating the subject. But her Genin were doing well. They were remaining in character, and if they seemed a little tense, well…

Running footsteps ahead caught their attention, and a smaller form came barreling around a corner a moment later. All four shinobi had to stop themselves from reaching for weapons, and Hinata had to intentionally relax her stance just before the running youngster crashed into her with a loud 'oomph'. Keeping to the role of a blind daughter, the kunoichi allowed herself to fall, landing on her bottom in the muddy street.

"Hey, watch it!" the youngster – a boy, probably about ten or so – yelled irritably as he jumped back to his feet. Kiba snapped.

"Watch yourself, stupid!" the tracker snarled, reaching out to pop the child upside the back of his head as his teammate 'helped' Hinata to her feet.

"Kiba!" Kurenai barked as the child howled in outrage. The young face twisted in anger, the boy spluttering indignantly as he stormed towards the Inuzuka. Hinata twisted a hand in Akamaru's fur to keep the dog in place as Shino stepped forward, laying a hand on his teammate's arm. Kiba took a visible breath, grinding his teeth as he fought his temper.

But just as the child reached him, drawing back one small hand to either hit or shove, a woman's voice rang out. "Inari! What is going on here?"

Kurenai turned to face the woman hurrying down the same street the boy had come from, but before she could speak the child was hurtling accusations. "They won't apologize for knocking me down, mom – and that jerk hit me!"

Kiba snarled again, his voice low as he bit out his words. "Listen up, you little brat, you were the idiot running with your head down – you hit Hinata. Who. Is. Blind. And I didn't hit you – you'd still be on your ass if I had!" The two boys glared at one another, and if looks could kill… Kurenai wasn't sure who would have won.

The woman gasped, casting a startled look between the boys, but then she caught sight of Hinata. Shades slightly crooked on her face, mud splattering her clothes and clinging to Akamaru's collar – to keep the dog in place, though the civilians didn't know that – the girl truly looked pitiable. "Inari!" the woman scolded, "did you hit her?"

Deflating slightly, the boy cast a sulky look at the ground. "Maybe" he grumped. Kiba puffed up a little more, but took another deep breath and held his tongue.

The woman was immediately all sympathy, her voice gentle as she addressed the teenage girl. "Are you alright, sweetheart? You aren't hurt, are you?"

Hinata gave the woman a smile, and the rest of Team 8 held their tongues, realizing that they had an opening that they might not have gotten otherwise. By the brief sour look on Kiba's face, Kurenai knew that the tracker had realized that it might have been a good thing that they ran into the rude little boy. The young kunoichi played her role well, smiling easily. "I'm fine, ma'am. Just… a little muddy, that's all."

Kurenai stepped up, taking charge of the conversation. "Thank you for your concern; it's kind of you to ask. Hinata is alright, but we do need to get her out of those wet things. It's been well over ten years since I've been in Wave, so if you could direct us to the inn…?" Kurenai felt another flicker of unease as the woman lightly bit her bottom lip, gaze flicking between the boy and Team 8.

"The inn closed down" she murmured, clearly debating something as she spoke. "There wasn't enough business to keep it open – no one ever comes to Wave anymore. Maybe… if you like… you could…" The woman trailed off and then nodded, apparently coming to a decision. "You could stay with us, if you'd like. It's our fault that she is wet, and we have two extra rooms – the boys could stay in one and you girls could stay in the other."

The boy made a strangled noise, but a sharp look from the woman silenced him. Kurenai smiled. "That would be wonderful, thank you. My name is Abe, Kurenai. These are my children, Hinata and Shino, as well as my nephew, Kiba."

The woman smiled back a little more hesitantly. "My name is Tsunami, and this is my son Inari. Welcome to Wave Country."

* * *

For once, all of Team 7 stood quietly, spread out in a mildly protective formation as they watched the other group moving across the sands. Though none of the group doubted for a moment that, had they so desired, the other shinobi could become completely invisible within their realm - so the fact that the Suna Nin were allowing themselves to be seen coming was a good sign. It allowed the Konoha shinobi to relax slightly, giving them time to observe the other group's movements and brace themselves for the imminent meeting.

Sakura couldn't help but to notice how easily the Suna delegation moved over the sand – even after nearly three hours of practice the night before, she and the boys still had to use chakra when making sharp turns to avoid slipping on the shifting surface. She felt no such chakra traces from the approaching group, and a glance at Sasuke and Naruto showed that they didn't either. The oncoming group – a four man team, Jounin if their vests were any indication – reached the top of a large sand dune, using the height to jump the remaining distance. The medic was impressed when none of them slid so much as a hairsbreadth on landing.

One of the group stepped forward, a middle-aged man with curling brown hair cut short around his face. He bowed slightly to the Hokage, and inclined his head in acknowledgement of Kakashi – a gesture her Sensei returned. His voice, when he spoke, was deep but relaxed. "My name is Shimizu, Isago. These are my comrades Hiiruko, Sajin and Kankuro of the Sand. It is our honor to guide the Hokage during this final distance of her journey to Sunagakure."

Stepping forward, Kakashi spoke in a formal tone that his team had never heard from him before. "Hatake, Kakashi of Konohagakure and my students – Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura. It is our honor to escort the Rokudaime Hokage, Tsunade-sama."

It was an unspoken understanding that an ANBU squad was also in attendance, just as it was understood that, upon arrival in Suna, there would be a squad of Suna's own elite watching over their Kage. There was a brief moment of silence as everyone cemented faces and names in their minds, and then the groups sped away into the desert.

* * *

Black eyes carefully observed the Hokage Tower in brief, seemingly idle interludes. The man moved his pen fluidly across the paper before him, only a fraction of his attention on the simple work. The rest was absorbed in plotting. 'The Hokage is away' he thought, almost done convincing himself to act. _'Shinobi are still being shifted around to find appropriate staff/task combinations that not too many people will question my presence until it's done… and they need to know about this. So… it's settled then. Before the blonde bitch returns – that's when I'll move.'_ And he smiled.

* * *

Kurenai allowed herself to wince as the front door slammed, Inari's angry voice fading as the child stormed down the street. Tsunami flushed, her eyes dropping as she nearly whispered an apology for the boy's behavior – he had been acting that way since Team 8 had arrived at the house the night before.

Over a quiet breakfast, the disguised shinobi asked small, innocuous questions. Each member of the team kept a careful eye on the woman's reactions, dropping back into small talk when she tensed or hesitated. It would be foolish to overly offend their hostess. Though for a moment Kurenai feared that they had stepped over the line when Shino asked about the partially-constructed bridge they had spotted on the way in.

Tsunami's eyes teared up, sorrow choking her voice. "It was… that bridge was my father's greatest ambition" the mother finally whispered. "It was supposed to bridge Wave and the mainland, to allow easier trade between the two. He… it would have freed Wave Country from relying on ships – and the shipping magnate, Gatou-san. Seeing Wave free of that man – of any such man – was… was my father's most precious dream. But, he… died, before he could complete it. And… his dream died with him…"

Kurenai felt her heart twist at the broken tone in the other woman's voice, and her Genin's dismay and sadness showed clearly on their faces. Hinata reached out to hug the older woman, a few small tears escaping the gentle kunoichi. Shino slowly shook his head, and Kiba was clearly upset.

She understood – their dreams were almost done coming true. Konoha was free, and regaining the strength it had lost in the civil war – but Wave's dreams had been shattered, and the heartbreaking despair it left behind was difficult for such optimistic children to see.

The Jounin wasn't pleased – but she also wasn't surprised when, behind the civilian's back, Shino made a silent sign. _We fix this._

* * *

Sasuke focused, keeping his breathing at a slow, steady pace as they loped through the sands. The early morning sun was quickly drying up the faint moisture that the night had left on the grounds, and the teen knew from the day before that it would soon grow hot – Sakura had already given the Genin a paste to apply after they'd gotten sunburned training the evening before.

Sasuke was accustomed to heat – his clan specialized in _fire jutsu_, for heaven's sake! – but he was used to it beating down or from his sides. Somehow, the heat reflected back from the sands was far worse than the sun beating down – their legs had been burned worse than their shoulders.

He moved easily, half of his attention on what the Suna Nin were telling them about the desert, and the other half focused on his surroundings. The occasional quick check showed that both of his superiors held carefully neutral expressions, nothing in their posture or eyes to give away what they thought or felt.

A shared glance with Naruto followed by a flick of his eyes to the left, a slight 'b' motion with the fingers of the hand down by his side, and one raised brow asked his question – 'are those flickers I keep spotting the ANBU squad?' – but the blond raised his shoulders during his next jump. 'I don't know.' Part of Sasuke hoped it was – he'd be thrilled to report to Itachi that he'd spotted their escort – but the rational part hoped not – hopefully they weren't _that_ disadvantaged in Suna's territory.

After a few short hours, the delegation finally began to slow. Sasuke glanced up ahead, noting the high cliffs and the narrow passage with cautious approval. Odd shadows in the cliff face suggested that there were sentry holes in the rock that could be used to prevent someone from simply climbing the cliff, and of course the narrow entrance could be easily defended. It was a good defensive setup – though not so good for Konoha if Suna decided to betray the team.

But he held his tongue, eyes noting every detail of his vector as his body language sent small, silent reports to his teammates if he saw anything of particular importance. From their own positions in the formation, Naruto and Sakura did the same. Sharp black eyes slid over the adobe-plastered buildings, absently noting that the Sand Village would be difficult to distinguish from the cliffs around it from a distance.

But what disturbed him were the people. Sunagakure had an atmosphere nearly identical to the one in Danzo's Konoha – the one that had just recently started to dissipate. Adults watched them with weary, suspicious eyes, and children paused in their games, some even running to hide behind their parents as the foreign shinobi passed.

A shift in Sakura's weight brought his eyes to her, and she flicked her gaze up to the delegates ahead of them. Sasuke studied them briefly, noting the shuttered look in the Jounin's eyes, the locked jaw of the teenager, Kankuro. '_They're not angry'_ he realized. _'But they are upset. They don't like this any more than we did – their people are hurting somehow, and they can't do anything about it.'_

A glance at Naruto showed that the blond Genin had straightened his stance even more, and there was a glint in those blue eyes that both of his teammates recognized. _'I don't like this'_ that look said, _'and I'm going to fix it.'_

When they finally moved up the stairs into the Hokage's building, the leader of the Suna delegation turned to face them. "Honorable Hokage and company, you have had a long journey. It would be our pleasure to offer you the opportunity to rest, refresh yourselves and partake in a meal before you meet with our leader. Is this acceptable to you?"

A single nod from Tsunade-sama – though she added some pretty words to it – had the Jounin gesturing to the youngest of the delegation. "Kankuro, please show our visitors to the guesthouse." Following the face-painted boy, Sasuke couldn't help but notice how painstakingly careful the Suna Nin were to not give anything that might be taken as offense.

As the older teen left them with a promise to return in five hours to guide them to the meeting, he had to wonder if Sunagakure was in even more trouble than Tsunade had hinted.

* * *

Asuma stifled a sigh, but he couldn't stop the rueful smirk tugging at his lips as he watched the 'Beautiful Green Beast' – more commonly known as Maito Gai – stare slack-jawed at their Genin.

They'd scheduled a combined training session, but had been delayed by one purple-haired Jounin on a sugar-high – seriously, whoever had sold Anko Mountain Mist needed to be drawn and quartered, that soda had the single highest combination of sugar and caffeine known to shinobi – and so were nearly an hour late. Only to find that their squads had already paired off without them. At the moment, Lee was coaching Ino on taijutsu, fighting defensively and cheering enthusiastically whenever the blonde moved more quickly or precisely than the attack before.

Chouji was bouncing his Meat Tank attack off of Neji's Ultimate Defense, and the Hyuuga genius was slowly adjusting his technique to be able to withstand the massive weight slammed against it – proven by the way he was sliding shorter and shorter distances every time the Akimichi teen rolled back around to slam him again. Tenten… had her head bowed together with Shikamaru, strangely enough. But when the girl flung her weapons scroll, summoned her steel and growled as the Nara boy calmly pointed out where each of her weapons would land, Asuma understood. They were trying to make her Twin Rising Dragons pattern less predictable.

Gai shook his head slowly in awe. "Are they always like this?" the taijutsu specialist asked, his voice actually quiet for once.

Asuma nodded. "Yeah, pretty much." A small intake of breath, a warning sparkle in the green-clad man's eyes, and Asuma braced himself.

"YOSH! Such DEDICATION, such ENTHUSIASM, such BEAUTIFUL YOUTHFUL FIRE! COME dear young ones, let us EXALT in the GLORIOUS SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!" Chouji stumbled in his attack, leaving himself sprawled out across the ground, while Ino and Shikamaru jumped a good six inches. Lee grinned – the rest of Team Gai just groaned.

* * *

Shizune sighed, glancing worriedly over the papers before her. The creak of the double doors to the Hokage's office opening made her raise hopeful eyes to her recent co-assistant, but that hope dimmed even as he entered.

"I'm sorry, Shizune-san" Iruka told her, hands spread helplessly in front of him. "I just can't find any way around it – and neither can Ibiki-san or Nara-san. We're going to have to send at least two ANBU squads, and possibly a few Jounin, if we want to stop these missing-nin before they destroy any more townspeople's lives."

The medic chewed absently on her knuckle, mentally reviewing the current state of Konoha's forces. "Damn it" she muttered. "Between the shinobi we lost during the war, the ones who went rogue and the ones out on missions… That'll strip the Village itself of pretty much everyone but the Genin and a handful of Chunin. But… we can't just let innocent people keep dying – especially since those are Danzo's former supporters causing the trouble. So… gyah! Send them out – and let's hope we don't need them in the next few days."

Iruka nodded, already pulling the summons bell.

* * *

Kankuro stepped forward, raising his hand to knock firmly on the massive double doors of the Kazekage's office. He gestured their guests to follow once that deep, familiar voice called out, and he bowed respectfully. "Kazekage-sama, may I introduce the Rokudaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade-sama along with Jounin Hatake Kakashi and his Genin apprentices."

His voice was level, polite – but the words were bitter on his tongue. To think – even in her moment of weakness, Konoha could afford to waste Jounin on something as trivial as teaching Genin! It was enough to make the teenager ill, and he struggled to keep himself from giving his emotions away.

Turning back to the Konohans, he spoke one last time. "It is my pleasure and my honor to introduce the Godaime Kazekage – Kimura Baki-sama."


	9. Missions!: Chapter 5

**A/N**: Sorry again for the delay everyone, but I've finally gotten my computer fixed, so I can work more easily now. Anyway, it looks like this is going to be a lot longer than I'd thought – it looks like there'll have to be a sequel to the sequel, b/c the politics have taken over *shudders*.

Thanks go out to: _**iNsAnE nO bAkA, TatraMegami, DarkRavie, The Laughing Phoenix, NarutoVixin, arimi-yume, hyperemoninja, Rangerfan58, mountainelements**_ and **_VescaWithoutWings_**.

* * *

Itachi narrowed his eyes, senses stretched to the limit as he hurtled through the trees. 'Where are they?' A whistled signal broke the silence, the young ANBU Captain nodding briefly to acknowledge the message – _'civilians secured'_.

The small town on the southern edge of the Fire Country was little more than rubble now – what the nuke-nin hadn't destroyed, the fire almost certainly would – but his squad had arrived in time to save the majority of the townspeople. Though the 'games' some of those unfortunates had been forced into was enough to turn even his battle-hardened stomach.

Giving himself a mental shake, Itachi locked himself down, pushing his emotions away and resettling into the role of the cold, inhuman hunter. Those men had hurt the people of his nation, had challenged his Village with their audacious disregard of Konoha's authority. And worst of all – they had once had the gall to call themselves Konohan. But now they would answer for their crimes – they would pay.

* * *

Shino fought the urge to press his lips, sliding his hands into his pockets and fisting them instead. He briefly wished for his long coat – the high collar helped him to hide his expression – but he murmured his thanks and turned away. The young shopkeeper behind him watched the teen walk away with a tired, wary expression. A rare rage flickered again in the Genin's heart, the whispers and down-turned eyes of the people of Wave Country building a slow but steady anger inside of him.

Shino settled himself against the wall of one of the taller buildings, sipping on his canteen as he calmed himself. _'We are only to gather information'_ he reminded himself yet again. _'Kurenai-Sensei said that we mustn't get involved – it is not our mission, not our place to confront this 'Gatou-sama' of theirs. We are to observe, to report. Surely the Hokage will send other teams to aid these people – but those teams will not include us. For now, we can help these people best by collecting the most accurate information we can, so that those who will follow us can act efficiently.'_ He knew this, understood it mentally.

Even so, when he dropped his eyes in feigned submission as the trio of blue-clad 'enforcers' walked down the street – when children hid and women paled at the sight – Shino found himself with an aching jaw.

He hadn't realized he had clenched it.

* * *

He smiled, nodding amiably to those he passed, but inside he was smirking, laughing mentally at the idiots. He rolled his eyes in mock exasperation as he passed one of the Chunin desk workers, sharing a rueful comment on the life of a go-fer. "Go for this; go for that – you'd think they couldn't walk!" With a half wave, he turned away – valuable documents in the coffee-stained folder tucked innocuously under his arm._ 'Idiots'_ he thought as he calmly walked right out of the door.

* * *

Kakashi watched, one grey eye sharp as he subtly analyzed the Kazekage's meeting chamber. The open, airy room had few places to hide, curtains tied away from the wide windows and only a running cloth in the center of the long table. The height ensured that it would be difficult at best to launch an attack through those windows, while providing a view of Sunagakure and the cliffs beyond – thus allowing for a tactical reference point if needed. Overall, he approved.

The Kazekage himself was a tall man, the Jounin noted with some surprise. A white veil covered the left half of a strong, square face, leaving the man studying them through one intelligent dark eye. Red markings beneath that eye would draw attention to the jaw line – and away from the man's gaze if one did not beware of the visual distraction.

There was the inevitable heartbeat where each of the shinobi present studied the others, and then, at Kakashi's gesture, he and the Genin bowed. The Kazekage made an almost negligent gesture, allowing the lesser-ranked shinobi to rise, and the two Hidden Village leaders inclined their heads in a respectful acknowledgement.

Kakashi was proud of his Genin – when the Kazekage indicated the seats, none of his students moved to them. Instead, they took standing positions at their Hokage's back, protectively placed without being insultingly close to her as their leader sat across the table from the Suna nin. Being a masked shinobi himself, he just barely caught the faintest twitch of a smile from the larger man as the children ranged themselves against the wall. He noticed the boy, Kankuro, took a similar position behind and to the right of the Kazekage.

As the typical political small talk began, discussing the history of the alliance between Suna and Konoha, there was no fidgeting or visible impatience. Even Naruto was, for once, not bouncing. The blond stood still and silent, his attention on the two leaders before him.

A small part of Kakashi wondered if perhaps he should be worried.

* * *

Iruka shook his head, juggling the stacks of paper in his arms as he reached for the door. Fumbling with the handle, he finally managed to turn it enough to edge the door open enough to slide his foot into the space between the door and the doorjamb. Nudging it fully open, he laughingly made a short mock bow. "After you, Shizune-san."

The medic rolled her eyes. "You weren't teaching the students about drugs today, were you? No chance they slipped you something?" But the small smile gave the game away – his good cheer was infectious. The pair stepped into the Hokage's office – and froze. Their smiles slipped away as their eyes shifted over cabinets, drawers and paper mountains. "Shizune I think-"

"Someone's been in here." The medic's voice was cold and hard, the duo quickly setting down the papers in their arms to stride over to the locked cabinets containing the more sensitive files. Iruka turned his back as the medic began disabling traps, eyes scanning the room as he heard the rattle of a drawer opening – and the cursing of the woman behind him.

He didn't even ask – Iruka dashed across the room and slammed a palm down on the alarm trigger. Two ANBU appeared in the room even as he removed his hand, one keeping an eye on the Chunin as the other turned to Shizune. "He's fine" the woman barked, and suddenly all three could see her teacher's influence in the apprentice's demeanor. "Someone's been in here and accessed the files – I can't tell if anything's been taken, but I need a list of who's been in this tower since Umino and I left for that meeting."

Just like that, the ANBU were gone. Iruka counted to seven, and suddenly one of them was back, thrusting a log book at the medic. The other was rounding up the available Jounin and Chunin. All three shinobi bowed their heads over the small book, kept by the ANBU themselves as one remained at the Tower's entrance.

Shizune mumbled names, rapidly discussing the shinobi in question's reasons for being present, until one name pulled Iruka's attention. "Mizuki's supposed to be teaching detention today."

Shizune snarled. "Send out a Village-wide alarm - find that Chunin!" And the three scattered.

* * *

Hinata frowned lightly, allowing a confused expression to wash over her face. "So, if we are intending to stay here and live, we'll have to pay an insurance fee to this 'Gatou-sama' person?" she clarified. She held herself still, not revealing that she saw the nod of the old fisherman she had been speaking with. After a few seconds, the man caught himself, glancing again at her sunglasses before speaking his agreement. The young kunoichi allowed her voice to hesitate, her words soft and slow as if she were having difficulties working out the information in her mind. "And when Mother finds a job-"

"If" he interrupted. "Work is scarce around here unless she's pretty enough to attract Gatou-sama's attention." He hesitated, glancing around as if afraid that they would be overheard. "You might want to be careful yourself, Hinata-kun. Gatou-sama… likes pretty things."

Hinata didn't have to fake the blush that stained her cheeks at the implied compliment, or the slight stutter when she replied. "Um, w-well, ah… IF Mother finds work… we'll, um, have to pay again?"

The weather-worn old man sighed, nodding wearily. "Yes, it's called a trade tax. The more skilled labor provided, the higher the trade tax – and of course the more numerous or unusual supplies she'll need, the higher the shipping tax will be. Then there's the road tax, and the dock fees, and the property tax, and… Trust me, little girl, Gatou-sama will send someone soon to tell your mother exactly what she owes. Just… just don't be late with payments. Gatou-sama charges a high interest rate for late payments, and if you fall too far behind… You just don't want to fall behind, okay?"

The girl hesitated, chewing lightly on her lip and debating with herself. Finally she compromised, asking one of the questions nagging at her. "But, Terou-san… if you have so many high taxes on what you earn and how you live… how can you support yourself?"

The old man paled suddenly, hissing a breath through his teeth. "Be quiet, girl! Don't say such things – do you want them to come for you? Go home, girl. Go home and keep your mouth shut about things you don't understand!"

Murmuring her apologies, Hinata backed away, pressing her hip against Akamaru as the dog 'herded' her back towards the main street. The pair walked for a time, the kunoichi staying close to the nin-ken as they wandered the streets, soaking in the hushed, beaten atmosphere of the little Wave town.

A familiar voice calling her name caught Hinata's attention, the Konohan pair waiting off to the side as Kiba wound his way through the mid-morning traffic to their sides. "What a town, huh?" the tracker asked, his voice unreadable.

"Yes," she answered. "It is certainly… unique."

* * *

The trio flung themselves through the trees, sharp eyes scanning the forest floor beneath them. Shikamaru mumbled under his breath. "Troublesome – damn traitor bastard." Ino cast a startled look at the boy, and Chouji grinned. The blonde had been one of their closest friends for years, but she hadn't seen how intensely the tactician could… dislike… those who messed with his Village. Their easy-going friend was more responsible than he let on.

As the Genin squad fanned out to search, the Akimichi teenager briefly wondered how Asuma was doing. The Jounin had been sent in a different – read, more likely – direction to seek the Chunin Missing-Nin. Really, it was probably a waste of time to search that specific area. Not that he would ever tell Shika that – the teen wouldn't fuss, but he would shoot Chouji a glare that could wither his soul. Ino, on the other hand, would explode. So, better overall to just – _'oh, jeeze!'_

All three Genin screeched to a stop, reaching out to catch each other before one of them could pitch right off the branch. Wide eyes quickly narrowed, and the suddenly serious Team 10 dropped into stealth mode. They spread farther out, automatically suppressing their charka signatures as they approached the faint charka trace ahead.

Caution, born from years of operating in enemy territory, allowed them to creep up to the very edges of the woodland clearing. The pale haired man stood clearly in the center of the grove, making the three Genin hesitate. 'What is he waiting for?' was the shared thought between them. And then they found out. Three different breaths froze in three different sets of lungs, six eyes widening as four strange shinobi slipped out of the shadows.

The light glinted off of the Iwa symbol carved into their headbands, and Mizuki smiled.

Team 10 shared an eloquent glance. _'Oh, shit!'_


	10. Missions!: Chapter 6

**A/N:** *hums innocently_*._ Thanks go out to: _**iNsAnE nO bAkA, DarkRavie, The Laughing Phoenix, InARealPickle, hyperemoninja, Rangerfan58 **_and _**VescaWithoutWings.**_

Is this canon? No? Then obviously, I don't own Naruto. And 'Zanzou' means 'afterimage'.  


* * *

Her feet hurt. Not that Sakura would even imagine revealing that, but still… between the unaccustomed effort of maintaining traction on the sand, the multi-day travel, and now standing still on the stone floor… her feet were really starting to hurt. But she ignored them, focusing instead on the calm, deep voice of the Kazekage.

There was a brief pause, the man shifting his eyes to Team 7. Tsunade was quick to understand, and she turned to her subordinates. "Hatake-san, why don't you take the Genin out? I'm sure that they must be getting tired of all of our talk by now."

The Kazekage smoothly made a request that everyone understood as an order. "Kankuro-kun, why don't you show our allies around Suna? It would be a good opportunity for you to talk to one another." Unable to refuse, the Genin – and their Jounin instructor – followed the young Suna Jounin out through the doors.

There was another moment of silence, both Kages listening to the fading footsteps of the children before Baki turned back. His face was solemn, all of the polite triviality gone from his voice. "Tsunade-sama, I am a warrior, not a politician. So I am going to be blunt with you – Konoha's power has dropped. Her word is no longer believed, her motives distrusted. The previous Hokage developed a reputation for not holding to his agreements, and has greatly damaged Konoha's standing in the world."

Tsunade blinked. "Acknowledged."

Baki's expression was grim as he continued to lay out his argument. "Suna has no such reputation of betrayal – but we lack Konoha's strength. Many years ago, we lost a number of our strongest shinobi, and Suna has never been allowed to recover. Your own Godaime Hokage abandoned the alliance between Konoha and Suna, while the other shinobi nations have launched periodic assaults against us. Suna has prevailed mostly due to the harshness of the terrain, but the frequent skirmishes have successfully prevented us from rebuilding our strength."

Tsunade nodded once, getting an idea of where he was going with this – but if she were honest, every word he spoke rang true. The man met her eyes, strength and sincerity in his gaze.

"My proposal, Tsunade-sama, is to reaffirm the alliance between our Villages. Konoha needs someone to trust – at the moment, you stand alone, cut off from all of the other shinobi nations – and Suna needs an ally to guard her back, to assist us in defending our borders. Trade and other agreements, naturally, can be negotiated, but I suggest a martial to intelligence alliance. I have heard a number of discontented rumors and complaints from other nations which are not spoken before Konoha's representatives. I propose that Suna become your ears among the Nations, your proof of your ability to hold to your word, in return for Konoha's assistance in our current difficulties. I believe that a high percent of our enemies would remain non-combative if it became known that they were no longer able to retreat past Konoha's border and lose our pursuit."

_'Blunt'_ she thought. _'Honest, for a Kage. They must be more desperate than I thought – but they're right. Even the Fire Lord doesn't trust me – he keeps coming up with reasons not to meet with me. This might actually work to both of our advantages.'_

-

Kiba casually stretched, taking the opportunity to observe the streets. The little Wave town wasn't very big – he'd already seen both Shino and Kurenai-Sensei once or twice – but the atmosphere was suffocating. It made him want to run, or fight, or do _something_ to clear the heaviness from the air. But Sensei – both of them – had stressed the need for the development of patience, and years of hiding had taught the impulsive teen the value of 'wait'.

As Hinata stepped away from the wall, Kiba quickly stepped out and maneuvered himself between his 'blind' friend and the open street.A part of him briefly entertained the notion that Team 10 might have been better suited for this mission – they had stayed aboveground for years, while he and Hinata had only snuck around sometimes – but he shook it off. He was here now, and he was _going_ to find a way to help these people.

As the disguised duo – plus Akamaru, of course – walked the streets under the guise of grocery shopping for 'mother', Kiba grew more and more angry at this mysterious 'Gatou' person. To the young tracker, the man was quickly becoming just another Danzo to destroy. A hurried murmur sweeping through the fairly crowded street pulled his attention back, and brown eyes widened as his hackles instinctively rose. Everything in him objected to the sight of one of the big blue goons – Gatou's enforcers – pushing one of the shopkeepers back against the wall of the woman's shop. He didn't even realize he had started to growl until Hinata laid one hand softly on his arm.

He fought to reign his temper in as the man stepped back, jostling arrogantly through the quickly parting crowd as he walked away. Aware of his teammate's concern, Kiba dropped his eyes in a show of mock submission as the man approached, but the crowd made it impossible for the two teens and the enormous white dog to get out of the way. The tracker grit his teeth, allowing himself to be knocked sideways into the girl beside him as the goon passed, forcing himself not to react quickly enough to catch the bags before their groceries spilled onto the ground.

He did allow a low curse to slip out as he dropped to his knees, remembering to tell Hinata to just wait, he'd get it – after all, a blind girl would be more likely to get her fingers stepped on than to collect spilled things. He was just starting to re-collect himself when a rustle of cloth caught his attention and a slender figure knelt nearby. "Here," the girl said, her voice soft and soothing. "That was very rude of him – please, let me help you with this."

It only took a moment for the two to collect the spilled food – and to determine what had been damage beyond being worth keeping. Hinata smiled shyly, offering a soft thanks to the stranger while Kiba grinned. For her part, the girl returned a gentle smile, tucking dark brown hair behind one ear. "No need for thanks, that man's behavior really was uncalled for. However, it did allow me to meet the two of you. My name is Haku – and you are?"

-

Shikamaru held up one hand, negating the half-formed question in Ino's eyes. A curt gesture had his squad mates circling, creeping into hearing range and waiting. The tactician knew that he should be calling for backup – however strong they were, by all rules they were still Genin and thus were not supposed to take on shinobi of unknown strength by themselves. Even if the way they moved _did_ leave him sure that Team 10 could take them. Their chakra traces were not so well concealed, and their movements were smooth but not fluid. Chunin, all five of them, if he had to guess. Still…

_'Something… isn't right'_ he thought, eyes narrowing suspiciously. _'They don't act like an infiltration squad – they're being as cautious of Mizuki as we are.'_ Shikamaru stilled his mind, leaning slightly closer to listen as Mizuki began to speak.

"You need to take me to Iwa" the traitor told them. "I've got information that needs to be made known – you've got to up the timetable if it's ever going to work." Shikamaru's breath caught, his mind launching into overdrive even as he noted that the Iwa shinobi showed small signs of shock._ 'Definitely not a five-man squad – but what timetable? What plan?' _

His attention was caught by one of the Iwa nin stepping forward, a sneer in his voice as he spoke. "What need do we have of that old plan now? The Hokage is defeated, Konoha's strength is broken. Many of her forces are Missing-Nin now, many more killed in the uprising. Konoha is no longer a threat – why should we care what you have to tell us now? Why take in a known traitor?"

Something inside of Shikamaru relaxed slightly at that – until Mizuki's smile sent shivers down his spine. "Because you've only got the old generation to judge by – you haven't seen the younger generation. Believe me when I tell you, these rebel children are no mere Genin – they are frighteningly strong already, and according to my information, most of their training was done by a child still a Genin himself. Now they're out, able to train in the open – under skilled Jounin, no less – and make full use of their chakra where before they had to be careful not to practice too powerful of a jutsu. They could very well be the most promising generation to ever come from the Shinobi Nations."

Everything inside of the hidden tactician went cold as he realized exactly where this conversation was heading. "If we let them grow, allow them to mature, there may be no stopping them. In only a few short years, Konoha will be stronger than ever, and will once again be in a position to dominate our world." 

_'Shit, we can __**not**__ let them out of here.'_ Shikamaru took a deep breath, quickly coming up with a plan and signaling his teammates. He only hoped that there was another team near enough to provide fast support. He was sure that he and his teammates could take the five down – but they needed to capture, and that was infinitely more difficult.

-

Hinata couldn't help but be curious. Haku was the first person they had met in Wave who did not seem to have that weary, broken attitude about her. She carefully reminded herself not to look directly at the other girl, but only in a rough approximation of the stranger's location as they fell into a light conversation. At the moment, Kiba was telling the girl about their cover story – the mother who left Wave as a child, returned in hope of finding a home for herself and her family when they fell on hard times.

"How about yourself, Haku-san?" Hinata asked when Kiba paused for breath. "How did you come to live here?"

Hinata almost felt sorry for asking – the older teen's reaction was an odd mix of fondness and sorrow. "Zabuza-san came here for work years ago. He had finally allowed me to come with him, and we had traveled for a time before we accepted a position with Gatou-san."

Hinata's eyes widened, and Kiba startled visibly. "Wait – _**you**_ work for Gatou?! What the hell's a girl like you doing working for a bastard like that?!"

Haku's eyes dropped to the ground, and her voice softened. "Do you have anyone precious to you, Kiba-san?" she asked, bringing the two undercover Genin up short. She seemed oblivious to their stunned reactions as she continued. "When someone is very important to you, all that you need to be happy is for that person to be happy. Their happiness becomes yours, and your dream is to see that one person succeed. I did not approve of Gatou-san – I still do not – but Zabuza-san wanted the job, and so I did not complain."

There were long seconds of silence until Hinata finally managed to push words past her tongue. "Wanted?" she asked, her own voice low. "You said he wanted… you keep using past tense."

Haku stopped, pained brown eyes sliding closed. "Zabuza-san… fell ill, nearly three months ago. At the fever's worst, he went to work without me, though I had pleaded with him not to send me away on my own task. There was an attack on the fleet and… his wounds were deep, and his body was weakened already… and I… was not there. I returned as quickly as I could but… there was nothing that I could do. He had lost too much blood… there was nothing I could do."

In spite of themselves, the Genin felt sorry for the girl, and Hinata reached out to place a hand on her arm. She barely remembered not to reach directly for the girl, but to fumble slightly. Kiba shifted in place, clearly torn between comforting the quiet girl and treating her as the enemy.

Haku faced the streets ahead of them, not looking at the younger pair as she nearly murmured her explanation. "Zabuza-san… had given me orders. I do not like working for Gatou-san, but… if I disobey Zabuza-san's last orders, then I would be killing what is left of his dreams. How could I do such a thing… to my most precious person? Zabuza-san took me in, when even my own father tried to destroy me. He gave me a purpose, when everyone told me that I was worthless. How could I do anything less than fulfill his agreement and avoid the besmirching of his name?"

The three stood silent in the street, three aching hearts and two uncertain minds, before Haku slipped out from under Hinata's hand. She took one deep breath, and then met the Konoha Genin's eyes with a serious expression. "Hinata-san, Kiba-san, I like you. You are kind, and you have good hearts. Gatou-san is sending me to check on one of his docks a ways away from here – I leave in the morning, and will be gone approximately four days. I suggest you be gone before I return and make my report – Gatou-san does not care for strange shinobi in his lands, and it would upset me greatly to have to kill you both."

As the Genin tensed in shock, Haku stepped a few paces away – then offered them an amused smile. "And Kiba-san… I'm a guy."

Kiba's jaw dropped, and a civilian moved between the Konoha group and the strange… whatever Haku was. By the time the man took the step that carried him out of their line of sight, Haku was gone. Kiba and Hinata looked at one another in distress, Kiba's voice almost plaintive in their shared shock and confusion.

"How did he know?"

-

Neji whirled, his Byakugan detecting the flying debris even as his sensed picked up the spike of chakra. Very familiar chakra. By the time a signal whistled through the air, the Genin of Team Gai were already altering course to back up Team 10. Short moments later, they burst into the now battle-scarred clearing.

Sharp eyes took in the scene in one sweeping glance – Shikamaru was still, hands held firmly as his shadows held two Iwa shinobi in his grasp. A glimpse of blonde hair showed Ino slumped in one of the trees, and a third Iwa nin was darting into the opening left by Chouji's rolling mass to score strikes off of a cornered fourth shinobi. The one by Chouji – clearly possessed by the Yamanaka kunoichi – pointed west and snarled at them. "We're fine – go get Mizuki. We _can't_ let him get away!"

With a sharp nod of confirmation, Team Gai raced into the trees again.

-

"Hn" he replied, dark eyes never opening. Naruto gave him a rueful little smile as Sasuke seemed to pay absolutely no attention to the blond's babble. He knew the jerk had heard him though, since they'd been… debating… for ten minutes not long ago.

But really, there was no need for Sasuke to come with them – his darker hair and clothing attracted more heat than his teammates' lighter coloring, not to mention that while Sakura and Naruto had developed a light tan in the three days they'd been in Suna, Sasuke's pale complexion had only burned. Even with using Sakura's paste, the quieter boy was a nice bright red everywhere that his uniform didn't cover. At first it was funny, but now…

_'I hate seeing him try not to wince every time we reapply that aloe vera stuff. Not to mention he always has a killer headache by the end of the day. He's not letting it show when it's not just us, but still… I think we'll all be glad when Granny Tsunade finishes these negotiations.'_

Shaking off the somber thoughts, he grinned brightly at his resting teammate. Over the last few days, everyone had relaxed around one another. They'd met Kankuro's teammates, and had found that they got along pretty well. Both Konohan leaders had become comfortable enough in their negotiations that the Genin were allowed out without Kakashi to supervise them – as long as they were in the company of one of the Suna nin, of course, no sense risking a misunderstanding – and Sakura had found a kindred soul in the medic-apprentice Sari.

They were actually leaving Suna for the afternoon - Sari had said that the herbs Sakura was so interested in grew only an hour or two away from the Village, and the Kages had given them permission to go and collect some.

Really, what could possibly go wrong?


	11. Missions!: Chapter 7

**A/N:** Short chapter here, but it drew out more than I thought it would – if I'd tried to get to where I'd planned on stopping, then you'd have had to wait a few more days. But there's two pages of the next chapter written since… before chapter 1, actually, so it won't be long_. _And there's a little insinuation in this chapter, but nothing vile or graphic.

Anyway, thanks go out to: _**iNsAnE nO bAkA, NarutoVixin, mountainelements, DarkRavie, The Laughing Phoenix, TantraMegami, Rangerfan58 **_and _**jazzy2may**_.

Is this canon? No? Then I obviously don't own Naruto. And 'Zanzou' means 'afterimage'.

* * *

Kurenai knew that something was wrong the moment she walked through the door. Akamaru was curled around a quiet Kiba, Hinata was pale-faced, and Shino was sitting perfectly still. Quickly extending her senses and determining that the civilians were not in, she strode to take the open spot on the floor, completing the circle that was Team 8 at that moment. "What happened?"

The three Genin glanced at one another, but it was only a heartbeat before Kiba responded. "We're busted. This girl…guy… whoever, knew we were shinobi. I… damn it, Sensei, I can't figure out _how_. Hinata's acting was flawless, and I _know_ we kept our chakra down. Neither of us did anything… shinobi-ish. So… so how'd he _know_?! Where did we screw up?"

Hinata spoke up, explaining exactly what had happened in the market and Kurenai frowned, carefully scrutinizing her students even as she brushed her chakra over them. _'They're disguised well enough, so how…?'_ And then her eyes widened as her chakra picked up an anomaly. The Jounin groaned, allowing herself to hang her head and hide behind her curls.

"I'm sorry" she nearly whispered, understanding. All three teenagers looked at her, confusion written in their expressions. Kurenai braced herself, and looked past Kiba – directly at Akamaru. "His chakra." She explained. "I didn't think… Akamaru's chakra is much more developed than even a guide dog – it's steady, trained. Anyone looking at it would be able to tell that he's been part of more than a few jutsu."

Eyes wide with understanding, Kiba turned a little and buried his face in his partner's fur. "You're right – I _didn't_ think about that. Didn't even realize it." Casting one another consternated looks, the Genin shifted uneasily.

"So… now what?" Shino queried, his voice calm but with a slight waver that all but _screamed_ his upset.

Kurenai sighed. "There's no help for it – we go home."

-

Iruka squeezed his eyes closed, wishing briefly that he had thought to pack aspirin in his bag that morning. It was nearly six now and there were still no more reports from the field. Half of the few Jounin still in the Village had been dispatched when Team 10 had radioed in, and the captured Iwa shinobi were currently in Ibiki's department – Iruka didn't even want to _think_ about what the grim-faced, very _angry_ Jounin was likely doing to those men.

The problem was, Mizuki was still at large. Team Gai had returned barely an hour ago, sent home by one of the Jounin when the trail had grown cold – none of the trio were tracking specialists, so it made no sense to keep the teenagers up and about when there were more qualified shinobi finally on the scene. They had clearly not been happy, but they had returned without protest. Gai himself was on guard duty – and the last he'd heard of Asuma, the man had been planning to take his team out for a very late lunch to celebrate their success.

Still, the incident proved that security needed to be tightened – and they still hadn't figured out what, exactly, the traitor had stolen. Iruka had spent the last five hours going through papers, and still had no more idea than when he'd started.

At this point, he could only hope that the retrieval teams brought the man back – or that whatever it was he'd stolen wasn't _too_ important.

-

Shino hesitated, dark eyes flicking quickly over the streets as he registered that _something_ was distinctly not right. The people were more animated, restless – fearful. Sharing a glance with his team, the teenager followed his Sensei's gesture to come back towards her and stay close. The team melted back into the crowd, each one subtly altering body language to allow the eye to slide away from them.

They watched, caution in every line of their bodies as nearly a dozen of Gatou's men – off duty, judging from the reek of alcohol preceding them – shouldered and shoved their way through the streets. The ones in front kept swinging their heads around, looking for something through squinted eyes. Then one of them stopped, elbowing the others as a slow smile broke across his lips.

Shino instinctively tensed – that smile did _not_ bode well. The man grinned, stepping up to Team 8, getting in their space in an obvious attempt to intimidate. His eyes passed over and dismissed Shino and Kiba, settling on Hinata and Kurenai. Never taking his eyes off of the two kunoichi, the man turned and called back to his friends. "See there – told you there were some pretty new ones. An' you bastards doubted me. Even the little one'd be fun."

The boys shared a quick glance, sharing in Hinata's confusion and unease as she took a small step back, unsure. Kurenai paled, and then flushed. "What do you say, ladies – are you gonna be nice, or not?" The man stepped forward, reaching one hand towards Hinata.

Shino and Kiba both shifted, intent on going to their teammate and to _hell_ with keeping their cover – but before they could move Kurenai had pushed through the crowd and placed herself between the man and the girl. Slender fingers grasped the man's thick wrist, blunt nails digging into flesh and pinching tendons. "Don't _touch_ her!" the Jounin hissed, red eyes flashing.

The thug roared in outrage – and all hell broke loose.

-

Ino frowned, chewing her lip slightly as she glanced over at her darker-haired friend. Shikamaru was always quiet, but this was unlike him. He wasn't cloud watching, wasn't telling her that she was being troublesome when she tried to talk to him. His mind was obviously far away – and it wasn't hard to guess where it was. Mizuki had not been recaptured, though there was a team which had been sent to track him for the distance.

No, what was tormenting her genius teammate's mind were the comments made about 'the plan'. Ibiki had not been able to extract any information from the Iwa nin; they'd bitten through their tongues and gone mute. She wasn't actually supposed to know that, but when you'd spent your life keeping track of what someone else suspects… well, old habits die hard.

Regardless, everyone was stressed, Konoha was even _more_ shorthanded thanks to having to send out that retrieval team, and Shikamaru was quietly freaking himself out with conspiracy theories. The kunoichi closed her eyes, reminded herself that it would be okay – they just had to pull through until the Hokage – or the ANBU/Jounin squads sent out – got back.

They had won a war – they could and _would_ get through this.

-

Naruto grinned, his spirits soaring at the laughter of the two girls. He didn't have a clue what they were talking about – their mouths were moving, and words were coming out, but it might as well have been Greek for all the blond understood of the terminology – but it amused them, and that was good enough for him.

This particular area was more rock than sand, much like Suna itself, and the herbs that the girls wanted grew plentifully. Sari, a little older than them at sixteen, but a cheerful girl, giggled as she whispered something in Sakura's ear. The younger medic laughed, swatting the elder playfully and scolding at her to "get back to those herbs, you."

Dark eyes crossed as Sari stuck out her tongue, and Naruto reached out to tug on a lock of long, brown hair. Sakura nearly fell over at the older one's yelp. Sari took a deep breath, clearly intending to scold the duo, but then her eyes went wide. "Oh, shit" she breathed, causing the Konohan pair to snap to attention. The older girl scrambled up, barking at the younger two to hurry as she herded them forward.

"Sari-kun, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, even as she and Naruto scanned the area around them.

The Chunin pointed, directing their gaze to a dark splotch on the horizon. "Sandstorm" she stated, her voice grim. "We've got to get under cover – the sands can strip flesh from bone in a matter of seconds with a really bad storm. And that… looks like it'll be bad. I just hope…"

"Hope what?" Naruto pushed, an instinctive unease creeping into him.

"Nothing" Sari said, a little too quickly to be believed. "Nothing we need to worry about. Probably. Anyway, there's a cave not too far ahead – we just need to reach it before the storm reaches us."

A little over five minutes at a full run, and Naruto was getting scared. There was a heavy, sharp scent to the air, and the wind had started to gust violently, driving sand into their faces. His ears picked up high, whistling wails from the storm, and the entire horizon seemed to have darkened. Even he could tell that they only had minutes before it would be on top of them.

The rocks had begun to pile, forming small dunes and valleys. Sari whipped around one such pile – and gave a gasping cry, stumbling back, her vest blooming red around silver. Sakura screamed in startled shock even as she jumped forward, deflecting another kunai before it could connect. Naruto pushed past, hands flying into what was quickly becoming his favorite jutsu.

The real Naruto positioned himself firmly in front of the girls, clones spreading out in a defensive formation. A shared glance, a nod, and Sakura dropped to her knees, hands already glowing green as she reached for the Suna medic. At the same moment, a half dozen of Naruto's clones went over the rock pile, two being almost instantly dispatched – and bringing the boy the memory of a three man shinobi squad. With Kusa hitai-ate.

Naruto snarled, bracing himself to defend as more of his clones dispersed, and the enemy came over the rocks.


	12. Missions!: Chapter 8

**A/N:** _I'm __**sorry!!**_ I am, but the last part of this was the first thing written in this story, and it refuses to be changed in any significant way. *hides*

Anyway, thanks go out to: _**iNsAnE nO bAkA, NarutoVixin, mountainelements, InARealPickle, Kalsoklv, lost highway, PeanutTree, DarkRavie, The Laughing Phoenix, TantraMegami **_and_** Rangerfan58.**_

Is this canon? No? Then I clearly don't own Naruto. 'Zanzou' means 'afterimage' and **_:_**_ / xxxxx / **:**_ is a flashback - yes, it's meant to be disjointed.

* * *

'_Shit, shit shit__**shit**__.'_ Sakura thought frantically. She could _feel_ the older medic's life slipping away under her hands, her chakra unable to repair the tears in the Chunin's lung and thoracic aorta. _'Airway, breathing, circulation'_ she chanted mentally, reminder herself of the "medical ABC's" as she sealed the brunette's lung.

It had taken precious seconds to move the older teen back from the soon-to-be battle zone, and Sari had already gone still under her palms, heart beginning to slow its' frantic pace. Not good. _'The combination of decreased oxygen and severe blood loss… __**damnit**__, she needs a transfusion – to transport oxygen to the brain if nothing else!'_

A gust of wind had her spitting sand, snorting indelicately to clear her own airway. Sakura's name being called, the near-panic in her teammate's voice, earned a brief glance up that made her heart freeze. The sky overhead was nearly obscured by the swirling wall of sand approaching them – and the driving, slicing wind was beginning to dispel Naruto's clones.

The blond was still keeping the three Kusa nin away for now, but Sakura knew that it couldn't last long. Not with the wind, their own unfamiliarity with the terrain, and the limitations on his movement. Naruto couldn't very well use his wild, darting battle style when he had to keep three enemies away from the two medics.

Sakura froze, sudden fear stopping her breath for a split second. _'We're going to die here'_ she realized. Setting her jaw, dismissing the natural, mindless terror of the wailing storm, Sakura turned her attention back to her patient – only to find serious, surprisingly lucid brown eyes locked on hers. _**'Go'**_ the Chunin mouthed, wheezing too loudly to speak.

Sari smiled, a small, grim expression. And then she raised weakened arms, trembling hands fumbling into seals. Green eyes going wide, Sakura screamed her teammates' name as she flung herself away. A sudden surge of chakra rose in that dying body, and with a final crest of power, the sand spiked in a jagged, racing streak towards the enemy. The younger medic could feel the life fade out of the older girl, and she forced back her emotions as she jumped back to her feet and rushed to support her remaining comrade.

Allowing her anger to surface, Sakura ducked under one of Naruto's clones – at least, she hoped it was a clone – and locked kunai with one of the two remaining Kusa nin. With a shout from the other, her opponent jumped back. A heartbeat was spent with the two pairs glaring furiously at one another. They were in the Kusa shinobi's way, and Naruto knew instantly why Sakura was no longer tending to her patient – the blond was overeager, not stupid. And then the Kusa duo Body Swapped themselves away.

Another heartbeat was spent checking the area carefully before determining that the enemy was truly gone. Naruto's clones were disappearing all around them, winking out with a sharp _"pop"_ even as his fingers flew through seals, creating more and more of the doppelgangers as a shield between the Konoha Genin and the biting edge of the storm.

Then Naruto hesitated, his face abruptly settling into a stubborn expression. "Sakura" he called, nearly shouting to be heard over the whistling wind. "I'll be back!" The medic blinked, certain she _must_ have misheard – and in that heartbeat, the blond had broken from the protective cover of the clones and darted away. Sakura's jaw dropped, shock blanking her mind for that crucial instant when she might have charged out and dragged him back.

A short – _eternal_ – moment later had the blond bursting back into the circle, breathless and bleeding and spitting sand as he reached for Sakura's hand. Unwilling to waste breath screaming to be heard, the pair shared a glance and then the entire group raced for the cavern Sari had told them about.

A shift in the clone shield left a temporary gap behind them, and Sakura's sharp eyes caught sight of a clearly jutsu-created stone mound. _'Sari'_ she realized. _'He put a stone shield over her body, so that her family can retrieve it. That thoughtful, selfless… reckless __**idiot!**_'

-

_Chaos._ It was the first coherent thing that crossed Kiba's mind. _'Pure chaos – this is dangerous.'_ He wasn't entirely sure what exactly had happened in those first few seconds, he just knew that suddenly the streets were rioting. Civilians were screaming, the goons were yelling and he and Shino were pushing through frantically milling people to reach the kunoichi pair in the center of the throng.

In the brief seconds he had lost sight of his teammates, the two had already taken down three of the eleven men. The ringleader was curled on the ground, cursing breathlessly as he wrapped himself around a clearly broken arm. The other two were still, the bruise forming on one's temple a clear indication of his condition – as was the odd angle of the other's head.

But the men were striking blindly now, long knives swiping at anyone unfortunate enough to pass within arms' reach. Kiba snarled, ripping a hidden kunai out of his tunic and darting around a heavyset woman in time to block a lunging stab from one of the men. "The hell kind of _coward_ attacks unarmed _civilians_?!" the tracker barked, shoving into the man's space.

The next ten minutes or so were a blur of sound and color and sheer mind-blowing pandemonium. He was never entirely certain, later, what was done by who. He just knew that he was spinning, ducking, weaving, blocking, finding it nearly impossible to defeat when he was so busy defending.

Finally it just… stopped. It was almost a shock, how quickly silence descended on the street. Kiba looked around in mild confusion, dark eyes searching for the people most important to him. Something eased in his chest when he spotted his teammates, Akamaru's tail thumping in the mud as Hinata patted him while Kurenai inspected a wound on Shino's arm across the way.

Eyes swept over the ground, quickly counting – and snapped back to his Jounin leader. Grim red eyes met his, and the woman nodded once. Ten men down. There had been eleven – which meant one had escaped. Kiba growled under his breath. Catching one another's eyes, the three Genin broke away, quickly spreading over the street to check on the wounded.

Kurenai sighed, but only hesitated for an instant before joining them. Their cover was already blown – and none of the teenagers were about to look at the people that _their_ fight had caused to be injured and leave them bleeding in the streets. Kiba ducked his head, muttering a quiet apology to the cowering adolescent with the stab wound to his leg as the other teen hesitantly allowed the Genin to wrap the wound.

There were not many injured – at least, not on the street. Most had probably fled to their homes, as the area had gone eerily silent. Nearly a half hour had passed since the fight had broken out, and Team 8 finally slipped away from the battle zone.

-

Calloused fingers whitened, pale hands gripping tightly to the windowsill. "Calm down, Sasuke." The boy twitched as Kakashi's cool voice washed over him.

"They haven't come back yet" he replied, his voice cold and clipped. Sasuke stood at the window, watching the storm beyond the canyon protecting Suna. He didn't blink when his teacher came to stand behind him, didn't flinch when the man laid one hand on a sunburned shoulder.

"They're with a Suna Chunin – she knows the area, and the weather. They'll be fine. They'll come through those doors, Naruto bouncing while the girls drag back behind him – and he'll tease you mercilessly for worrying about him."

"Hn." Dark eyes never shifting from the glass, he grunted an acknowledgement of Kakashi's attempt at comfort, if not his acceptance of it. _'I officially __**hate**__ deserts.'_

-

Kurenai hesitated, red eyes sliding over the crowd gathering in the streets. The people were clearly nervous, hesitant. But something familiar shone in their eyes. Gatou's men gathering in a perimeter outside had left Team 8 slipping back into town, intending to wait for the cover of darkness to make their way past the line. But these people, led by Tsunami, had stood in the streets when they returned.

The mother took a deep breath, clearly gathering her courage before approaching the shinobi squad. "You… you're leaving? Your mission is over?" she questioned, her voice almost hopeful. Seeing no harm in answering that particular question, Kurenai nodded, aware of the stillness and silence of the Genin behind her.

Tsunami hesitated, wringing her hands in uncertainty before huffing a breath and rushing on, her words blurted as if they had exploded from her. "Can we hire you?" Kurenai stopped, blinked in shock. That… was _not_ what she was expecting. Apparently encouraged by the lack of an immediate denial, the single mother continued, her words slower but still quick.

"We" she gestured to the crowd around her "would like to hire your team. Please. I… we can't pay much right now – we would be willing to contract, to pay on it for as long as we needed to – but… Gatou is _strangling_ Wave. If he isn't stopped… Lady shinobi, as it is now, Wave has no hope. Our children have no future. Our people are starving and our businesses are failing. Even the livelihood of the sea is being taken from us by his fishing fleets."

Wary, trying not to let these people's desperation affect her, the Jounin tried to make them think. "And what makes you believe that trading one debtor for another would make things any better?" Kurenai could _feel_ the outrage rush through her Genin, and could only pray that they had the sense to hold their tongues. They did, though she was sure that there would be later words from Kiba, at least.

To her surprise, Tsunami smiled. It was a tiny one, but a smile nonetheless. "You care." She replied, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "You defended us, and took the time to treat those who got hurt. That's more than Gatou's ever done. If that's the kind of values Konoha teaches… then we would gladly live under its yoke."

A long moment of silence, and Kurenai could feel every eye locked hopefully on her. Even her students'. "Sensei" murmured Hinata's gentle voice, and she _knew_ that if she turned, Kiba would be looking at her expectantly, while Shino would be waiting with a quiet confidence that they would do what the children considered to be _right_.

Kurenai sighed. "Shino… I'll need to use your insects. We need to clear this with Konoha." From the corner of her eye, the Jounin saw two of her Genin beam. Shino's instant 'yes' and the small smile on his lips attested to the stoic boy's happiness. The civilians cheered.

-

Unknown to the foreign pair, as they ducked into the cavern they were being watched by sharp green eyes. The creature moved closer, curiosity tugging at its' mind as the raging sands brushed almost lovingly against its' skin. It drew closer to the strange shinobi - for they were most definitely _not_ Suna nin; they moved too freely among the sands, there was too little fear in them for the pair to be from anywhere nearby.

Its' eyes were drawn, fascinated by the bright colors of the two. Especially the male. Something about his sun-colored hair created an odd sense of warmth in the creature's chest. It stopped just outside of the cavern, certain that the shrieking winds and swirling sands would conceal its' presence from the two within.

The pink-haired female was clearly agitated, her hands moving in sharp gestures as she ranted. Absently shaking matted red locks out of its face, the creature focused its' senses on the two young shinobi. It picked up the sharp tang of fear in the female's scent, weaving a foundation underneath her anger and bringing the creature's focus on her. Normally, it would savor another's fear, but this... disturbed it.

Something stirred uncomfortably in long-forgotten corners of the creature's mind, and it shifted uneasily.

"Honestly, Naruto" the female raged, "you've got to _think_ before you do stuff like that! How in the world do you expect to become Hokage if you're always doing such reckless things?!" One small hand clamping onto the male's shoulder, forcing him to sit, the female's other hand reached into one of the pouches at her hip. Interest spiking, the creature leaned slightly forward, wondering if its' sands would taste the blood of the young male.

Pale features frowned lightly in confusion when the female pulled out a small jar and a roll of cloth instead of the expected steel. The male flinched, but - wisely, perhaps - kept silent as the female poured a little of their drinking water over some of the cloth, using the damp material to scrub at a wound on the male's arm.

She continued to berate him for some prior act as she applied a light green paste from the jar over his wound, tugging perhaps just a little harder than necessary as she wrapped more of the cloth over the paste.

The creature drew back slightly, something stirring more strongly inside of it. Something about the female - that rough, almost violent concern, that bright fear underneath her fury - sent a sharp, aching pain through the creature's body. It stepped back, trying wildly to understand why this smaller, more fragile creature was able to cause it pain without being aware of its' presence. As if in response to its emotions, the sand raged even more violently.

But the pair were speaking again, and - as much as it wanted to run away - it could not seem to tear its' attention away from them. The blond male's voice sounded for the first time since the creature had begun following them. "But Sakura-chan, it's not a big deal. You know I heal, like, ridiculously fast. I'll be fine - I'm hard to kill. So why are you doing this?"

Something inside of the creature went still, pupils dilating until only the smallest ring of green was visible, breath stilling. It could not recall ever feeling so tense, so... _fragile_... as everything inside of it waited for the female's response. She hesitated, eyes dropping briefly to the ground as she answered. "You're stupid... but you're still my friend. I don't want to see you hurt."

The creature's breath flew out of its' lungs as something shattered inside of it. Dizziness overcame it and sent it crashing to its' knees as sounds and images flooded through its' mind with all the force of the raging desert winds.

_**: / **__A very small male stood, blinking owlishly at the female before him. Taller, older, her wild blonde hair pulled back into four messy bunches when it __**would not**__ be tamed, she was familiar to him, although he didn't know her well. He'd been told that she was his sister. The girl - a child, really, no older than eight or nine - glanced behind her, fear and determination shining in her eyes. /_

_/ The tiny redhead held a worn stuffed bear, half hiding his face as he murmured in sleepy confusion. "But Uncle Yashimaru said not to go outside after it's dark." The girl huffed impatiently, placing one fisted hand on her hip as she held out the other to him. "You don't get it! You __**have**__ to come with me - don't you understand?! They're going to __**KILL **__you!" "But... I'm hard to kill." Certainty in the girl's voice, an unshakable belief. "Only because Father's never tried!" /_

_/ Stumbling through the dark, a small pale hand clutched tightly in the older one's grip as they ran. The reek of fear - from her, from him - and the riot of confusion in a young mind. "Brother's distracting __**him**__, but we have to hurry." And that voice, scared but warm. "It'll be okay, I'll get you out of here." /_

_/ Confusion, fear, excitement. The wonder of the open sky, uncluttered by buildings or cliff faces rising to block it. His bear lost somewhere along the way, his body thrumming with the older girl's urgency. And a question, smaller hand pulling out of rougher one. "Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?" A hesitation, darker green eyes dropping to the ground. "You're scary... but you're still my brother. I don't want to see you die." /_

_/_The creature trembled, wide blank eyes fixed on the empty space before it. No longer seeing the Konoha shinobi, but a young girl with fierce, fearful eyes. /

_/__ Hiding, eyes wide and hurt at the harshness of the young voice when she told him to "__**shut up and stay there!**__" And then... people, shinobi, appearing out of nowhere. The girl stood, chin held high, hands clenched at her sides even as she trembled, surrounded. /_

_/ "Where is it?" they asked. "The plan cannot be carried out; Konoha's Kage is too suspicious to allow us near the Village. The weapon is useless, and too dangerous to be allowed. Now, what have you done with the creature?" A hitch in the sure voice, sharp fear tainting the air. "That __**creature**__ is my little brother. And he's safe. You won't be able to hurt him now, not out here. Not where you can't keep the sand from reaching him." _

_/A large hand, fisting in soft cloth. A stony face, too close to a child's. "You don't want to do this, daughter. You __**do not**__ want to go against me. Do you, Tamari?" /_

_/ 'Temari' the hidden one thought. 'Is that her name?' /_

_/ Fear, despair, a horrible __**knowing**__ in those deeper eyes. Fear and confusion in paler ones, not knowing, not understanding. Not yet. /_

_/ A quick gesture, a strangled, choking cry. And a blonde child collapsing bonelessly to the ground, a halo of red beginning to spread out around her. /_

_/ A scream ripping through the night air, fear and rage and confusion as the only other one to ever be nice to him would not move. And the sands, swirling into a churning maelstrom, reflecting the broken heart of a lonely child. /_

_/ The moon peering out, its' face finally able to show through the settling sands. Its' pale light shining down on the shattered, scattered fragments of what were once some of the most powerful shinobi Suna had to offer. And a tiny child, gently shaking the body of a girl, the only thing in sight __**not**__ coated with sand. Tears streaming from blank green eyes as a soft voice whispers, begs. "Please say something - please wake up. Please-please__**please**__ don't leave me here alone!" __**/ :**_

Red hair whipped in the wind as the creature's head was thrown back, an inhuman shriek tearing from its' throat. And by the time Naruto and Sakura jumped to their feet, there was nothing outside but the biting sands.


	13. Missions!: Chapter 9

**A/N:** Sorry everybody, but this chapter fought me tooth and nail. Anyway, thanks go out to: _**mountainelements, iNsAnE nO bAkA, NarutoVixen, InARealPickle, TantraMegami, The Laughing Phoenix, PeanutTree, lost highway, Rangerfan58, DarkRavie, x-smith, Tara La'Quinn, Jhonc, deviltiger, jolteonforever **__and__** KittyKatTerra**_.

Naruto's world is owned by some rich Japanese guy. I am, unfortunately, poor – not to mention American and female. Therefore, I obviously don't own Naruto.

* * *

Kiba grinned, flashing a quick thumbs-up at the child below him. "This'll be great, Aimee-chan." The teenage tracker jumped down from his perch, tilting his gaze up from the ground as he surveyed the side of the building. From street-level, the window could not be seen – and with the building's interior stairs collapsed, few people would ever think that the upper floors could still be accessible. Kiba wasn't sure how exactly that could help Team 8, but every short cut and bolt hole, every passageway and tough-to-spot alcove that the locals could show them would be remembered and factored in.

That was one of the big shinobi rules – 'know yourself and, if possible, know your enemy and your terrain'. Well, they were certainly doing their best to learn it all. Back at Tsunami's house – the default 'headquarters' for the group – Kurenai was _gently _interrogating the locals about their enemy, and Hinata was pouring over every map and blueprint that they could gather for her. Shino was gathering supplies, making an inventory of everything that they had or could improvise with while Kiba climbed over, under and around everything with the local kids. The children were _great_ at pointing out hiding spots, or holes in fences and such.

The adults were quickly filling with a sort of nervous anticipation – but the children were absolutely ecstatic. From the corner of his eye, Kiba caught a furious expression, followed by the backside of Tsunami's little boy.

'_Well'_ he thought, his good mood suddenly soured, _'__**most**__ of the children are eager. Damn brat.'_ Kiba was _really_ starting to dislike Inari.

-

Iruka jerked, senses flaring out as a sudden sound startled him out of his unintentional doze. At the desk to his right, Shizune did the same. The sound came again, and his now-alert mind finally placed it as a knock on the wooden doors of the Hokage's office. With a nod from his comrade, Iruka stood and crossed to the door, opening it to admit the young messenger. The girl entered quietly, the long trench coat and dark glasses marking her as Aburame. Both adults eyed the teen with veiled curiosity as she nodded shortly to Shizune.

When the girl spoke, her voice was a smooth, quiet monotone. "Shizune-san, my Clan has received a message via our Kikai insects from a cousin in the field. Shino-kun, currently on assignment with Team 8, has reported unexpected complications in their mission."

Iruka felt his chest constrict with sudden dread, and focused on keeping his expression steady as Shizune gestured for the girl to continue her report. The teen's voice never wavered, and her stance never changed as she spoke of her younger kinsman's trouble. "Their cover has been destroyed. Their environment is currently under hostile control – withdrawal is possible, but Team 8 requests mid-level combat assistance and permission to remain."

Both older shinobi blinked, surprised at the conclusion. Iruka wasn't sure what he had expected – extraction assistance, maybe? – but permission to stay at a battlefield was _not_ it. Shizune immediately attempted to clarify the girl's report, but the teen shook her head.

"I am sorry" she told them, "but I cannot give you any more information than that. Our Kikai insects are loyal, and we are capable of transmitting detailed information with them, but only over a relatively short distance. They are not highly intelligent, and cannot retain complex messages over a long journey. Truthfully, the fact that Shino-kun was able to send even that much detail over such a distance is astounding. He is very skilled indeed to have done so."

There was a temporary silence as both adults thought that over, and then Shizune dismissed the girl, the pair turning troubled eyes to one another. "I don't think that we _have_ any mid-level combat staff available" the medic murmured.

Iruka held his silence, his mind running over everything he knew of the available shinobi – and Team 8. He couldn't help but remember a young Kiba and Hinata, standing in the shadows, fists clenched and eyes pleading as they begged him not to make them abandon Konoha. His thoughts flickered to the Shino of less than a year ago, standing calmly before a half-dozen armed rebels, hope slipping through the acceptance in his voice as he played the ambassador – and potential sacrificial lamb – for his Clan.

Brown eyes closed, and Iruka breathed a silent prayer to any deity listening before he spoke. "Actually, Shizune-san… there is _one _team…"

-

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, mentally cursing the glaring sun as he paused to take a quick sip from his canteen. The sandstorm had finally ended, and parties had been sent out to look for the three missing shinobi before the sands had truly settled.

He had heard horror stories about those unfortunate enough to be caught out in such a storm, and – despite his attempts to reassure himself that his teammates were both competent shinobi and wouldn't be beaten by a mere force of nature – fear dug icy fingers into his heart, constricting his chest as he stared at the completely altered landscape outside of Sunagakure's cliff walls.

A brief flurry of activity to his left pulled Sasuke's attention back, and he quickly moved closer. The Jounin in charge of the search party was handed something small, and those fingers spasmed again at the grim look that overtook the man's craggy features. Sasuke unashamedly craned his neck, and felt his heart skip a beat at the small, sand-scarred object in the man's hands. A hitai-ate, bloodied, and that symbol… Kusa.

The Uchiha's sharp mind nearly flew over the last few days, remembering his Hokage's comments on Suna's current troubles, the fear and unease in the eyes of the Hidden Sand's people. The storm, Naruto and Sakura could have weathered, but…

Shouts went up in the distance, pulling the Genin's near-frantic mind back to the situation at hand. The Jounin's shoulders relaxed. "They found them" the man murmured in explanation. With a polite – if hurried – bow and thanks, Sasuke bolted for the distant hill.

-

The four-man group moved quickly, plunging through the trees with an almost reckless vigor. And they weren't even paying all that much attention. The green-clad Jounin gestured wildly, his booming voice 'encouraging' his students with words of fire and friendship. Neji focused solely on his breathing, trying to use the steady sound to drown out Gai's voice.

Lee was paying attention, but only partly – as much as he admired his Sensei, he had to admit that the man could get a _little_ over-excited. Iruka-sensei had warned him about that – though his first teacher had also mused that it really was a very effective way to make others underestimate the taijutsu specialist. So Lee used it to an extent. Though right now he was more focused on not dropping any of the objects piled in his arms as he ran.

Tenten reached out to snatch various items from her more exuberant teammate, hastily arranging four small but fairly well-stocked field aid kits. Ino had brought her the armload of medical supplies literally at the last minute, calling out to them as they stepped through Konoha's gates. Still, the weapons specialist was grateful – they were walking into a battlefield ringed by civilian targets, it was likely that they would need every bit of it.

Once the kits were assembled, the kunoichi handed them to her fellow Genin, letting Lee hold the Jounin's for the moment. Briefly belying his often-idiotic appearance, the Green Beast allowed his broad grin to shift to a smaller, more genuine smile. As soon as his students were no longer burdened so awkwardly, the man wordlessly picked up the pace.

Team Gai blurred through the trees, making a beeline straight for the Wave Country.

-

The door closed, leaving Team 7 standing silently in their guest suite. Kakashi watched the Genin carefully, waiting for the break in their surprisingly – to the Suna shinobi who'd found them – professional facade. Kakashi knew better than to be so surprised. These children had seen people – friends and comrades, even – die before, had even killed many times since they had been nearly as young as Kakashi himself had been. But this…

Unsurprisingly, given the circumstances, Naruto broke first. The blond shuddered, silently turning to his teammates – and was instantly, unquestioningly pulled into two pairs of warm arms. Sakura tucked those wild sunshine spikes under her chin, holding him tightly as Sasuke wrapped his arms around them both, murmuring soothing nonsense under his breath.

They were shinobi, yes – but they were not yet hardened. They knew death, could deal with it. But it still hurt them so very much.

"She _thanked_ me" Naruto whispered, pain and disbelief coloring his normally cheerful voice. "We got her daughter killed, and she _thanked_ me for shielding her body." Sakura made a rough, wordless noise, burying her face in her friend's hair, and Sasuke looked up at their leader. The Uchiha boy's eyes were pained, almost pleading with Kakashi for help. It was hurting the boy, to see his teammates so hurt.

Unfortunately, the Copy Ninja knew that there was no help for this. The pair had left as children – on a simple, childish outing that had become a bloodbath. They had responded as shinobi ought, burying their shock and salvaging the situation as best they were able. They even spoke calmly and objectively during the report to the two Kages, giving detached and detailed information. But the return of the shrouded body of the Suna Chunin, along with the tearful thanks of the girl's mother – grateful to have at least a body to bury – was too much.

Kakashi only shook his head, stepping forward to lay an arm over Naruto's back, placing one hand each on Sasuke and Sakura's shoulder. Silently, he waited for his students to work through their heartache and pull themselves back together. He had no doubts that they would – they were strong like that.


	14. Arc 3: Intensity Ch 1

**A/N:** I'm sorry! My computer broke (again, stupid piece of junk!) so I couldn't get to my files, but it's fixed now. Hopefully. As an apology for the wait, you do get an extra long chapter, though. So thank you to those who reviewed:**leobelkin, Taryn Streambattle, Sarla, deviltiger, Chaney2250, Silver Shadowbreeze, Tombadgerlock, snowecat, Tidmag, Tara La'Quinn, Wing Moon, jolteonforever, lost highway, VescaWithoutWings, Rangerfan58, The Laughing Phoenix, iNsAnE nO bAkA, DarkRavie, mountainelements, PeanutTree** and **NarutoVixin**. Hopefully the extended break hasn't lost me all you readers. 0.o

Still don't own Naruto. Or any other shinobi, for that matter.

* * *

The empty halls of the Kazekage compound alternated between impenetrable darkness and soft, pale light depending upon whether or not there were windows in the room. The stillness would have been eerie, had anyone paid attention to it, but all of the compound's inhabitants were either asleep, or had long since memorized the art of fading into those deep, silent shadows.

The shadows slowly crept across the stone floors as the moon rose higher in the sky... and then something changed. The pale light began to flicker, dimming and returning to a relative brightness. This was the first sign that something _very_ different was about to occur - but no one noticed.

---

Naruto twitched uneasily in his slumber, some faint sound or sense attempting to tug at his consciousness. And then blue eyes shot open, the breath hitching in his chest as he registered an abrupt change in the atmosphere around him. Naruto sat up, unaware of displaying a fluid grace that the Genin was still struggling to master consciously. His hand automatically pulled his kunai brace out from underneath the edge of the mattress even as his eyes scanned the room.

In the bed across from him, Sasuke met his gaze, red eyes bloody in the dark. The solemn boy reached up, gently tapping his ear with his left hand as his right strapped his own weapons in place. Naruto tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he focussed his hearing. And then his eyes went wide, shooting back to his teammate when he understood what the darker boy had already realized.

There was a depth to the stillness, a hush that stole the breath and roiled the gut in unpleasant anticipation. And in the distance, a whistling, wailing shreik that the blond found all too familiar. Allowing himself to relax slightly in the absence of an immediate threat, the blond tipped his chin up, silently questioning his roomate.

Sasuke shook his head, shrugging lightly as he cast a glance towards their Sensei's empty bed. Both boys swung their feet out of their respective beds, settling lightly on the ground and moving in opposite directions. Sasuke went to stand at the window, his sharper eyes searching the darkness outside as Naruto reached for the door. Right before his fingers curled around the handle, the door pulled open, leaving the blond face to face with a tense Copy Ninja.

-

Sakura moved lightly, breathing steady despite the tension constricting her chest. The medical part of her mind noted objectively that sandstorms would probably freak her out for some time after the one she had been caught in only a few days ago, but she pushed the thought aside to be considered later, when the air didn't carry the feel of a disaster about to hit.

Picking up her weapons, she noted that Tsunade-sama had not yet returned from her late meeting with the Kazekage and then turned her attention to the room she slipped into. She nodded at Sasuke's questioning glance, her focus shifting as the door near Naruto pulled itself open and Kakashi stepped quietly into the room.

"Yo." the man uttered, raising one hand in a lazy salute. His grin widened beneath his mask as all three of his Genin relaxed, though Sasuke never took his eyes away from the window. Naruto settled back off of the balls of his feet, assuming a less battle-ready stance as the blond grinned back.

"What's going on, Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked, mentally reviewing the weapons and medical supplies she had brought with her.

The Jounin shrugged, but his words belied the lazy tone. "Looks like there's a massive storm about to hit, so me'n Tsunade are helping out the Suna shinobi. She's gone down to the medical bay, and I'm helping get the civilians into deeper cover where the storm can't get to them." And again, all three Genin reacted nearly as one. Sasuke turned away from the window, stepping towards the doorway as Sakura turned back to her room. Naruto reached for the boys' shoes. Kakashi laughed, waving both hands in a 'hold it' gesture.

"No, no" he chuckled, making the three stop and stare in confusion. "Sakura, Tsunade said not to try staying up tonight. We'll call for you if you're needed. Boys, you are _not_ coming with me. _Ack!_" he cut in when Naruto would have protested - and if the light scowl was any indication, Sasuke wouldn't have been far behind him.

"Look, I know you're both good shinobi, but you don't know Suna - and neither of you can teleport yet. I am _not_ risking the two of you getting stranded somewhere in that city without me. So you all need to settle down and try to get some sleep, okay?" It really wasn't a question, but Kakashi respected them just enough to wait for their - reluctant - assent before smiling brightly under the mask and vanishing.

There was a short period of silence, and then Sasuke summed up their feelings with a low mutter. "Damn."

---

As the first edge of the storm struck, the sands littering the streets began to swirl, flying with enough force to burn skin, and even Kakashi could see that it would quickly build enough power to scour that skin away. The dark blurs of Suna shinobi flickered through the streets, testing buildings. If the preparations passed inspection, the shinobi slapped a chakra tag on the door, letting their comrades know even from a distance to pass by. If it failed, they immediately evacuated the place, shuttling civilians to a safer location.

Kakashi caught a Chunin's questioning gaze, nodding grimly even as he gestured. He pulled the girl inside when she reached his side, and a frightened woman nearly shoved her young son into the Chunin's arms. The girl nodded, offered a poor excuse for a smile, and vanished. Kakashi set hands on the woman herself, and teleported them both to the nearest chakra-marked building.

The evacuation drove home to Kakashi exactly how much damage Suna had taken. While the city didn't _look_ too bad, the fact that over two-thirds of the buildings in a desert city were not suitable for riding out a fairly common natural event screamed of hardship. Not to mention the fact that both Suna shinobi and civilians alike were all tellingly familiar with the routine.

As Kakashi turned his attention back to his task, something almost... familiar... tickled at the edge of his senses, but a two-flash flare of chakra marked another evacuation to be carried out. The Copy Ninja shook off the vague feeling, moving quickly to aid the unfortunate souls caught in the path of the killer storm.

-

In the dark halls of the Suna gues compound, the faint sounds of shouting in the Village below were nearly drowned out by the winds. The power had long since gone out, leaving the darkness broken only by the flickering light of the lanterns hung at intervals along the walls. Each of these things, added to the surreal atmosphere created by the breaking storm, were more than enough to raise a near-paranoid wariness in the young ANBU stationed to guard the Genin.

Beneath the plain white mask, the boy known only as Sai carefully, continuously swept flat dark eyes over the halls. His mind briefly flickered to his teammates - two guarding the Hokage while the third played shadow aid to Hatake-san - but swifly returned to his charges. Deciding to make one last sweep of the balconies outside before the storm grew too intense, the teen slipped through the shadows on silent feet.

Once his checks were complete, the boy paused, leaning slightly towards the railing as he gazed down at the Village just in time to see the last of the dark blurs dissappear into one building or another. The evacuation was apparently complete - the Suna shinobi were taking shelter themselves.

Buffetted by the wind, vaguely grateful for the porceilin and body armor sheilding him - for the moment - from damage, the young agent turned back to the quiet halls. But he stopped, something catching on the edge of his awareness. Sai froze in the doorway, quickly analyzing his environment, eyes carefully searching the darkness in front of him. And then he saw it.

The wind was at his back, trying vainly to push him into the halls, but... the sand that had blown into the corridor was moving... towards... him... Sai whirled, weapons already drawn as a shadow reared up behind him. A muffled thump, a heartbeat later, and the sands began spilling into the corridor through the open door.

-

Sakura shifted uneasily in her bed, fighting the urge to grumble the way she could still hear Naruto doing next door. She understood Kakashi-Sensei's reasoning, but honestly, there must be _something_ they could be doing! Heaving a sigh, the Genin closed her eyes, silently running through some of the relaxation excersizes she had learned during her training. She focussed on tensing and relaxing each muscle individually, allowing her mind to empty of everything except her body. By the time she was done, she was comfortably drowsy.

Almost absently she noted that Naruto's muttering had died down, either ending or growing quiet enough that she couldn't hear it. Opening her eyes, a sleepy yawn escaped the girl as she cast one last look around the empty room. Her gaze swept over the potted plants on the shelves, her mentor's empty bed, the window, and...

Eyes snapping back to the window, wide awake now, the medic snatched up her weapons brace even as she flung herself up and out of bed. She landed in a fighting crouch, heart pounding as she wondered if she had actually seen what she thought she had.

Then the world exploded, and Sakura screamed.

-

The explosion from the room next door jolted Naruto and Sasuke to their feet, the fear and anger in their teammate's voice spurred them to even greater speed. Sasuke checked his speed for a step, allowing Naruto to bull past him as the blond's fingers flew in a very familiar jutsu. The clones burst through the door, the original not one step behind them - and Sasuke barely a step behind _him_.

Sasuke ducked his head, forced to squint as the wind raged outside - and inside now, through the gaping hole where the outer wall used to be. Automatically searching for his teammate, something inside the boy relaxed slightly at the sight of Sakura - teeth bared in a snarl and weapons crossed defensively in front of her, but alive and seemingly uninjured.

Eyes hardening, Sasuke shifted his gaze back to the former wall, taking in the male standing in the gap with a critical eye. The boy - for he couldn't be much older than them - stood quietly, chin bowed, hunched over and nearly curled in on himself as if injured. Shoulder-lenght red hair whipped violently in the wind, and would likely have been longer had it not been so matted and tangled.

Sasuke briefly wondered where the hell the boy was from - he wore the brown travelling cloak and tan under-armor of the Suna shinobi, but the flat, wide-brimmed hat was definitely Rain Country gear. The Uchiha wasn't entirely sure, but he thought that the solid, high-necked grey vest was Mist in origin. The redhead's sandles were obviously too big for him, as was most of his clothing. Only two things tied the eclectic outfit together; all of it was tattered - and all of it was blood-stained.

But his observations were cut short as the redhead raised his chin, allowing a clear look at his face for the first time. Sasuke's breath hitched, unease curling in his gut as he met the other boy's gaze head-on. The intruder's face was blank, still, and his eyes were dilated, almost glazed over. But something stirred behind those dull eyes, something Sasuke instinctively felt was dangerous.

The other boy took a sharp breath, stepping forward abruptly - and the Genin moved. He dashed, very aware of Naruto at his side as they placed themselves between the boy and their pink-haired comrade.

Sakura might smack them for it later, Sasuke acknowledged to himself, but right now there was only one thing either Genin was concerned with. It was an unspoken understanding between the two of them - for all that the girl was working so hard to improve, she had still only had about two years of training, as opposed to their eight or nine. Sakura was strong - but they were much stronger.

-

The redhead stopped, hands curling into fists and opening again, fingers flexing as if he could not decide what he wanted to do with them. That blank face shifted, twisting as if in pain, and thin lips parted and closed a few times. Finally, the boy forced out sound, his voice rough and low as if unaccustomed to use. "How?!" he rasped, and a part of Naruto's mind stumbled in confusion. The stranger growled harshly, hands clenching again as that red head shook violently. "You... _hurting_ me... _**HOW**__?!_"

Naruto rocked back, confusion written clearly across his face. He cast a quick glance at the boy beside him, but while Sasuke's face was hard, his eyes showed the same confusion. "I... don't know..." Naruto ventured, wondering uneasily if the redhead was more than a little mad. The redhead's expression twisted even more, and the blond had a short instant to think that maybe that hadn't been such a good answer.

The stranger threw back his head, something almost seeming to shift underneath his skin, before he _shrieked_. Shrieked, and unleashed a surge of malevolent chakra that brought Naruto to his knees. He vaguely heard Sasuke gasp, fumbling slightly as Sakura whimpered behind them. But he couldn't react to it, his body refusing to respond. Naruto had to fight just to breathe as waves of blood-red chakra poured off of the intruder, and the Jinchuuriki realized instantly what they faced.

_'Oh, God_' he thought, his mind trying to go into shock. _'Is __**this**__ what everyone felt when the Kyuubi tried to rise in me?! I never... to me, it was pressure, something to fight for sure, but... but nothing like __**this**__. This is... this is __**crushing**__, suffocating. It isn't natural, and it shouldn't __**be**__. God, no __**wonder**__ they called me monster back then._'

-

Sasuke gasped, his knees immediately trying to buckle beneath him as that soul-killing chakra flooded the room. He gave himself a hard mental shake, silently berating himself for that weakness, but... But this wasn't Naruto, wasn't the cheerful blond who would never hurt a comrade. This wasn't the friend, the _brother_ he trusted, regardless of how out-of-control he was acting. This was a stranger, a killer. Possibly a madman.

Limbs trembling, breath coming in short, sharp draws, Sasuke fought to hold himself still even as he registered a shaking Sakura push to the front beside him, shouldering past to help defend Naruto. The blond's eyes were wide and dazed, his body rigid with tension - leaving him the most vulnerable of the group.

The redhead's scream finally ended, that pale face remaining tipped towards the ceiling for an eternal moment. But then he looked down, and the savage light in his eyes, the rictus grin of a corpse spread across his features told Sasuke in no uncertain terms that this boy was insane. That disturbing grin stretching wider, the redhead took another step forward... and something in Sasuke broke. He _had_ to act, had to _move_, everything in him screaming hysterically to _run __**away**_.

So he charged, flinging himself forward with a war cry tearing unnoticed from his throat. Sasuke never reached his enemy. The redhead never even glanced at him, those glazed green eyes fixed on Sakura and Naruto as a wave of sand formed around him and casually batted the dark haired fighter away.

Sakura screamed as Sasuke hit the wall with a sickening _crack_, only to crumple limply to the floor as the world went dark.

-

Naruto jerked, Sakura's voice yanking him back to himself as she cried out. He forced his gaze off of the floor, only to see a trembling medic standing between him and the enemy. Blue eyes widened in shock and fear as he took in the still form of his quieter teammate, and Naruto surged to his feet, fury and protectiveness flooding his heart and soul. He stepped forward beside Sakura, drawing a breath for words he never spoke.

The redhead tipped his chin forward, and the sand condensed, rushing towards the two remaining Leaf Genin. Both teammates shouted as the split apart, diving into evasive rolls. Naruto sprung up, summoning clones as he charged at the enemy while Sakura tried to circle to the right. Their opponent made an almost dissmissive gesture, and the sand split, pouring into the room to circle both Genin. Naruto found himself caught in a tight grip within the sand, and a wild glance showed him that Sakura had fared no better.

"_**HOW?!**_" the redhead roared again, that demented smile still plastered across his face as the sand began to squeeze.

Naruto had just enough room to wiggle his hands together, fingers flying before he vanished in a puff of smoke, trading places with a darted forward again, so intent on rescuing his trapped comrade that he ignored the crashing sound behind him - until he was abruptly jerked backwards. The blond felt the brush of cloth on his arm, and had the brief impression of light and... birds?... before the room exploded - again - in a cloud of sand and dust.

When the wind cleared enough of the sand to see, Naruto's first sight was of Sakura, sprawled on the floor but scrambling to her feet. The next was of Kakashi, headband shoved up to reveal the Sharingan eye they had all heard about, but had never seen for themselves. Their teacher's face was set in a grim, cold fury that was somehow worse than the redhead's raging hate, and every suddenly fluid line of his body screamed 'predator' to anyone with eyes in their head. The part of Naruto that would always be that excitable child stuttered in slack-jawed awe. The shinobi in him let out a sigh of relief.

Then there were other people, other brushes against him as three ANBU, a half dozen of Suna's elite and the Hokage all burst into the room. "Sakura!" Tsunade barked, and the medic apprentice promptly turned her back on the enemy, trusting her comrades to guard her as she moved to her fallen teammate's side.

"Naruto, guard her" Kakashi ordered, never taking hard grey eyes off of the redhead. The blond nodded silently, quickly moving to stand behind the girl whose hands were already glowing green. After a moment, he heard her sigh.

"He'll be alright" she murmured. "His arm and some ribs are broken, and he'll probably have a nasty concussion, but he'll be alright." Naruto felt even better at her words, almost able to smile as he looked back at the face-off going on just a few feet away.

Kakashi stepped closer, his voice low and dangerous as he asked the redhead exactly who he was and what he was doing there. Naruto's eyes flicked away as running footsteps heralded the arriveal of the Kazekage, followed closely by his ward. The Kazekage's visible eye widened for an instant as he caught sight of the redhead, but it was Kankuro's reaction that shocked the Leaf shinobi. The teen's face paled, shock clear in his face as he stepped forward. "_Gaara_...?" he questioned, his voice sounding almost numb.

The redhead's reaction was even more drastic. The smaller boy froze, trembling, eyes glazing completely over. And then he dropped to his knees, curling in on himself as he screamed. The sand raged, swirling so violently that everyone in the room had to step back, moving out of the room and throwing arms up in front of their eyes. When it finally settled, the redhead was gone.

There was a long moment of silence, everyone standing utterly still, the only sounds that of the dying storm outside. Finally, someone moved. Kakashi turned on his heel, striding across the room until he stood directly in front of Kankuro.

"Alright" he said, that quiet threat still shading his voice. "Who the hell is Gaara?"


	15. Intensity: Chapter 2

**A/N:** Gyah, Wave is giving me HELL! I can't seem to round up enough bad guys without messing up later parts of the plot. Which means I'm going to have to try and find a way to tie in something that wasn't supposed to be connected, or make up powerful enemies. *_bangs head*_

Anyway, thank you to all you readers, and personal thanks to you reviewers: _**QuietInsomniac, DarkRavie, Taryn Streambattle, Rangerfan58, lost highway, iNsAnE nO bAkA, The Laughing Phoenix, TatraMegami, mountainelements, Chaney2250, PeanutTree, Rokuko Kaminari Blaze, Tara La'Quinn, deviltiger, Titan of Saturn, deerang88 **_and **_BukkakeNoJutsu._**

**Disclaimer: **Let's see, am I: Japanese? Male? Rich? No, no and unfortunately, not even close. Therefore, Naruto clearly isn't mine.

* * *

Deep in the heart of the Earth Country, a solemn group was gathering far underground. One by one the invited slipped through the labrynthine passages of the Iwa cave system. Low murmurs echoed off the stone as torchlight cast eerie, flickering shadows, further adding to the surreal air of the meeting.

Finally, all of those expected were present, rising from the earth or darkness as befit their individual natures. The murmurs ceased, silence engulfing the cavern, until one strong voice rose. "Bring in the claimant."

Two figures melted into the earth, only to return a moment later, a tall man striding proudly between them. The new shinobi walked steadily despite the blindfold wrapped around his eyes, his expression confident. He stopped as his escorts did, a light touch on his shoulder turning him to face the gathered tribunal. As the blindfold was removed, black eyes met the gaze of each shinobi before him. A smirk flitted across the man's face as he swept into a deep bow, addressing the council as equals when he straightened and spoke.

"Good evening. I am Touji, Mizuki, formerly of Konohagakure, and I come bearing vital information for the preservation of the strenght of Iwagakure."

-

A dull, repetitive sound tugged at the mind, pulling the sleeper steadily towards waking. After drifting for an eternal span, the sound finally grew too close to ignore. Fighting through, feeling like a swimmer rising from the dark depths of the water, the sleeper finally pushed his way into consciousness. Dark eyes never twitched, breathing rate never altered as the sleeper focussed on his ears, attempting to determine exactly where he was.

Hearing nothing but the beeping, feeling himself lying on something soft, with something wrapped snugly around him, the sleeper allowed his eyes to slip open the tiniest of cracks. Instantly, a familiar voice spoke from near the lower right corner of what the sleeper assumed was a bed. "Don't move. You're safe, but you really don't want to irritate those wounds right now. You're on a lot of painkillers, so you could displace the grafts and not realize it."

Knowing, trusting that voice, Sai allowed his eyes to open fully. He slanted a - hopefully, as he'd been working on attempting to be more expressive - inquiring glance at the armor-clad man leaning against the far wall. Apparently he succeeded - that, or the other simply knew that he would want a situational briefing upon waking. "There were no casualties that we've discovered at this point. The Uchiha kid broke some bones and the other two Genin have some bruises, but they'll all be fine."

The familiar porceilen mask shifted to face him. "You got lucky, kid. You lost a few layers of skin, but it didn't get to muscle depth, so they've given you skin grafts over some of the deeper areas and IV fluids to keep you hydrated. A few more days, another healing session or two, and you should be off the drugs and on your feet." Well, that explained the fuzziness, as well as the snugness around him. He must be tightly bandaged.

Sai simply waited, saving his strength. He knew that there was more to come, the other's demeanor practically screamed it. His comrade's posture was limp, almost lazy... able to strike quickly and with little warning. His voice was professionally bland, leaving no doubt that beneath that maroon-striped mask, Drake's expression would be completely closed off.

Sai studied the older agent as he waited. He had not previously seen this side of his friend, though he had known that it _had_ to be there. The man _was_ ANBU, after all. But still... it was so unlike the friendly, open young man who had been attempting to 'socialize' Sai, - and later spent the entire trip to Suna making random, irreverent comments designed to amuse his squad mates - that the former ROOT operative felt a slight chill run down his spine. This wasn't Katsuhiro, he realized. This was the young killer that Hatake-san had claimed for one of - as he had later learned, from other squads - the most efficient ANBU teams in Konoha.

That flat voice, so at odds with what Sai knew of the young man, spoke again. "The boy just woke up, and the little medic escorted him to the meeting. Hare is going to brief us later. Kakashi is NOT happy - seems Suna's been keeping secrets."

-

The quartet glanced down at the map held loosly in the hands of the tallest. The heavy mist cleared partially, allowing the waxing moon to shine briefly in diamond sparkles across the water - and the figures standing on top of it. "It should be right over there, right Gai-Sensei?" one asked, absently shifting his weight as the 'ground' beneath him rolled.

Meeting one another's serious eyes, Team Gai dropped into stealth mode, shifting lightly onto the balls of their feet as they dropped to a smooth, soundless glide across the waves. When they found their target, they very nearly stumbled across it - with all of the lights either out, or shielded by something covering the windows, the town blended neatly into the dark and the mist.

Gai nodded with approval, eyeing the nearest streets. Many had been 'accidentally' blocked off, whether from fallen market stalls, abandoned carts or other such debris. Only a trained eye would have realized that the blocked streets lacked the dust and randomness that should accompany true neglect-ridden degradation. These were defenses. With a small smile and a silent gesture at his students, Gai stepped onto solid land.

"Welcome to Wave" Tenten murmured quietly.

-

Meanwhile, far from the conflicts brewing among their allies, a single light burned in the upper windows of the Hokage Tower. A short, sleepy woman shuffled letters and scrolls with calloused, ink-stained fingers as bleary eyes fought to stay open. Finally, each of the various documents had been glanced at, sorted and set to one side or another. An exhausted voice spoke from the desk to the woman's left. "That should be all of it, right, Shizune-san?"

Glancing up, Shizune fought a giggle at the sight of Iruka, uniform wrinkled hopelessly and normally controlled hair escaping its' tight ponytail in random tufts. "Yes," she replied, a smile twitching at her lips. "That's it, we're done for the night." The younger man heaved a sigh at that, dropping his head onto his folded arms. The Chunin looked perfectly willing to go to sleep right there at the desk.

Lips twitching further, Shizune stood - only to be interrupted by a knock at the heavy double doors. Iruka straightened, his expression pitiful for a brief instant. Both shinobi blanked their expressions as the acting-Hokage called permission, and held their places until the messenger had set the 'very important' message on the desk.

The moment the Genin was gone, doors closed behind him, Iruka thunked his head back onto his arms with a deep groan. "They're _all_ 'very important'. Doesn't it ever _stop_?"

Withholding a sigh of her own, Shizune glanced down at the scroll... and froze. The woman sat down heavily, rousing Iruka's attention as a shaking hand fumbled the scroll open. "Oh, shit!" she whispered, near panic flitting across her features.

"Shizune, what's wrong?! What's..." Iruka trailed off, dark eyes widening as he caught sight of the seal on the back of the paper. "Is that...?"

Black eyes lifted to meet his, shock and a growing horror reflected in the gaze. "The Fire Lord is requesting a meeting with a representative of Konoha. In six days." There was a short moment of pained silence, and then the stillness was broken. Iruka banged his head on the desk again.

-

Back in Suna, the air had finally cleared from the heaviness of the sandstorm - but a storm of a different kind was brewing within the walls of the Kazekage's meeting chamber. For the moment, silence reigned supreme, the Leaf shinobi quiet as they processed the dark story of the redheaded Jinchuuriki.

Finally, the quiet was broken by a confused, somewhat outraged Sakura. "And you didn't _go after him?!_"

"Sakura!" Tsunade barked, as the girl stared in disbelief. The pink-haired medic swallowed any further comments, but the damage had been done.

Kankuro, silent during his Kage's explinations, nearly snarled back at her. "Of _course_ we didn't! Would _you _have gone after a demon?!"

Naruto, already pale from the far-too-familiar tale, blanched even further. Sakura bulled up, drawing breath to snap right back at the older teen, but Sasuke's quiet voice interrupted, the hard edge in his tone silencing his teammate. "Of course not."

Naruto flinched, and Sakura snapped around to look at their friend in shock. Even Kakashi and Tsunade were startled, but Sasuke continued before any of his comrades could gather their words. "I would never have gone after a demon. But I would definitely have gone after _my __**brother**_."

The room exploded. "Damn straight!" Sakura nearly cheered, even as Tsunade hissed "that's enough!"

Kankuro surged to his feet, practically shouting. "That's not Gaara! That's Shukaku out there! I don't know _what_ happened to that sweet kid Temari tried to play with, but he's gone! The demon probably ate him! There is no way - that psychopathic _thing_ is NOT my little brother!"

Kakashi settled back slightly into the shadows, a discreet gesture keeping the two ANBU agents from interfering as he observed the other shinobi. That one grey eye narrowed as he caught Naruto's expression hardening, a fire lighting in those sky blue eyes. _'Shit.'_ he thought to himself. _'This won't end well.'_

The young Sand Jounin stepped forward, hands balling into fists at his sides, and the Kazekage finally moved. "Kankuro, _enough_!" the masked man thundered, startling the boy into silence.

The three leaders exchanged a glance, and at his Hokage's nod Kakashi stepped in. "Team Seven" he called, watching with a glimmer of approval as the three turned their attention obediently to their teacher - but never turned their backs on the angry teenager. "This is not our affair to meddle in - we're returning to our quarters. Now."

With a respectful nod to both Kages, Kakashi turned and walked out of the chamber, confident that his students, as badly as they had slipped, were at least professional enough to follow without protest. Behind him, he heard the Kazekage ordering the remaining teenager to his own quarters.

_'Great.'_ Kakashi thought, already begining to sort through the tactical implications of the night. _'This is turning out to be much more complicated than even we had anticipated.'_


	16. Intensity: Chapter 3

**A/N:** Um, hi. *nervously offers chapter.* I know I've been gone _way_ too long, but… the muse went on strike. But I finally hunted it down, and dragged it back, and it's now trussed up and stuffed under my bed. So… thank you to all of you who read this so far, and even more to those of you who reviewed: **QuietInsomniac, lost highway, Rangerfan58, The Laughing Phoenix, Chaney2250, InARealPickle, Taryn Streambattle, PeanutTree, mountainelements, InsaneNoBaka **and **mishap.**

Special thanks to: **WhyMustIWrite** and **Tara La'Quinn** who mailed me, worried b/c I hadn't updated. For another story, but still. It gave me the kick in the bottom that I needed to get _off_ of said body part.

Anyway, I'll shut up now. I still don't own Naruto, this is still AU, and there is still violence and language.

* * *

Kakashi slipped from the room, catching Hare's eye as he left the Genin in their new rooms. "Watch them" he murmured, not entirely comfortable with leaving them alone, but knowing that his place at the moment was at his Hokage's side. The kunoichi nodded, blurring into the shadows as she acknowledged her charge.

Beyond the door Naruto ranted, pacing the room as he punctuated his words with quick, expansive gestures. Knowing that Kakashi would not have left them alone, the blond allowed his words to tumble recklessly from his mouth, starting with how badly the redheaded Jinchuuriki had frightened him and working up to exactly what he thought of both said boy's history and Suna's attitude towards the 'demon' they had created.

The Konohan vessel barely gave any thought to censoring the verbal assault – he was too busy holding the other, actual conversation with his teammates. "How could they do that to him?" he asked out loud, even as his fingers curled in and his wrist twisted slightly towards himself. _'This is wrong.'_

"He's insane." Sasuke turned slightly from his position near the window, the shift of weight onto one leg dropping his opposite shoulder and his chin. _'I know.'_

"Sasuke's right" Sakura added from her perch on one of the two beds. "I don't agree with what they did back then, but he's a threat now." Even as she spoke, her closed hands curled up, the knuckles facing each other across her stomach before her fingers opened. _'What do we do?'_

Sasuke didn't bother to gesture – the slow quirk of one eyebrow was eloquent enough. _'We?_'

Naruto flung out one hand in the midst of a particularly vehement statement – he really wasn't even sure what. But his fingertips skimmed in each of the trio's direction before falling back to his side, three fingers folded over his thumb. _'Us three.'_

Sasuke did _not_ sigh; it wouldn't have fit in the conversation. But he did lean slightly more of his weight against the wall, allowing himself to slump just a bit. _'Great.'_

All three silenced their hidden conversation, allowing Narrator's chatter to fill the air. Sakura drummed her fingers lightly on the bed, and then patted it once, catching her teammate's attention. She drummed two fingers together, the first touching just before the longest – given the nature of their discussion, there could only be one person she was indicating – before turning her hand, dragging the fingertips quickly across the bed in a seemingly distracted gesture. _'Kankuro called…'_

Sasuke picked up immediately on her chain of thought, allowing one hand to echo the gesture with the tapping fingers reversed, and the drag slower and shorter. _'Gaara spoke…'_ Three sets of eyes, so different yet so familiar to one another, met and reached an understanding. As usual, Naruto 'spoke' for the three.

He repeated Sasuke's tapping gesture, stilled his hand for an instant, and then swept it back to his side, thumb curled over all four fingers. _'Gaara's still in there.'_

Each of the gestures were subtle, carefully placed casually in the midst of more natural movement. Kakashi would probably have caught the communication, though it was unlikely that he would have understood the messages. Hare missed it completely, too accustomed to thinking of Genin as _Genin.

* * *

_

Sandaled feet moved lightly across the deck, avoiding the blood and gore splattered across it with a deceptively finicky precision. No blood marred the pale blue uniform, or dripped from the long brown hair, despite the death toll attributable directly to the almost feminine shinobi.

Haku paused, brown eyes sweeping across the small group of boats, picking out his 'comrades' from among the masses. It wasn't difficult – they were the only ones _not_ either dead or screaming. Lips pressed lightly together in displeasure – Haku never _could_ understand the joy the others took in their targets' suffering – the teen nonetheless bent and carefully looked the last survivor of his own target vessel in the eye.

"I am sorry" the boy said, sincerity in his voice and regret in his eyes. "But Gatou-san specifically stated that any trade vessels had to be approved – and taxed – by the Import and Export Department. Smuggling is not allowed, and must be dealt with swiftly."

"We had… to try" the man gasped around the blood bubbling from his lips, showing the odd courage that the pained and dying sometimes develop. There was no doubt that the man was finished – a loop of intestine hung from his side, clearly caught by one of the others' blades. A slow, painful death if there ever was one. "He's… killing Wave…"

"Yes," Haku murmured, respecting the man's attempt. "I know."

A soft sound caught the young shinobi's attention, eyes flicking upwards as the flutter of wings drew his gaze. Haku held up one arm, allowing the messenger bird to land lightly on his wrist. Ignoring the man dying at his feet, Haku untied the paper from the bird's leg, reading quickly and steadily. "They didn't go" he murmured, nearly soundless in his disappointment. Brown eyes closed for a heartbeat, and then a flick of the wrist sent the bird winging back. Message received.

As the shinobi 'squad' raced back across the water, anticipation shining in the eyes of most, the roughly crafted quartet of ships they left behind were still and silent. Back on the last, an old man slumped over, the angle of his body almost hiding the bloody mass leaking from his side – but highlighting the silver needle lodged just beneath his ear, neatly piercing the brain.

Haku never could stand another's suffering.

* * *

Far away, in a city surrounded by lush greenery, a bearded man strolled down his street, flicking ashes from his cigar as he opened the door to his apartment. Unfortunately, his easy, carefree mood was not allowed to last. As he stepped into his living room, Asuma pulled up short, blinking in surprise at the Genin seated on his sofa. The man sighed – Shikamaru was hunched over, elbows on his knees and fingers linked in a circle.

The teen finally looked up as his teacher folded himself into an armchair across the coffee table. Asuma waited, knowing that if the Nara prodigy had come all this way, then there were very specific questions that the boy wanted answered, and there was no sense wasting his breath on chitchat. The boy didn't disappoint. "Where does Konoha stand?"

Asuma blinked, tipping his head slightly in an enquiring manner. He knew that there was more to the question than he initially heard – Shika wouldn't be referring to geography.

"Wave Country, a former trading hub in this continent, has gone to hell – and don't try to tell me it hasn't, Neji asked me about sea tactics before Team Gai left the other day. Suna, a Village representing a country known for their stubborn independence, is opening discussion with the closest thing it has to an old ally. From what I can tell, Iwa's gone silent – I heard my mom mention that some of the outlying patrols caught sight of Iwa shinobi moving quickly for the Stone Country. They're pulling in their troops, and no one knows why."

The boy took a deep breath, serious eyes meeting the impressed ones of his teacher. "I hadn't realized it before, but Konoha's rebellion created a major shift in the continent's balance of power – it _must_ have. We _were_ _**the**_ major force to be reckoned with, and now our power is dramatically reduced. I have to figure out the probable repercussions of this, Asuma-Sensei. Konoha has to know what it's getting into, and… I _need_ to understand. As the son of a Hokage, and a former Twelve Guardian – don't give me that look, did you honestly think that I _wouldn't_ look up a symbol you wear almost religiously? – you're the best person I can think of to ask."

Asuma let out a slow breath as he settled back in his chair, eyeing his student with surprise, calculation, and a spark of understanding. _'This really has been eating at him' _the teacher thought, noting the honest distress in the boy's eyes. _'Shika's a genius, but more than that, he's a tactician. He __**knows**__ that it'll be his job someday to understand the full ramifications of an action before he gives orders to his team – hell, it already has been. And with his intelligence, he's __**capable**__ of seeing the wider picture… he just doesn't know how the pieces can fit together. Huh… I have __**got**__ to stop underestimating these kids.'_

Asuma watched his student quietly for a moment longer, and then he heaved a sigh. The man leaned forward, almost copying the boy's posture as he snuffed out his cigar. "Alright, kid, pay attention. This is a lot trickier than a battlefield – politicians are snakes, and like a snake, it's not the fangs you've got to watch out for. It's the venom."

* * *

The sun shone brightly on the streets of the little Wave town, but the watcher in the window was mired in the blackest of moods. Inari huddled against the sill, watching the activity in the streets below through the crack between the curtain and the wall. The boy scowled, angry and frightened and miserable.

There was laughter as a number of the other children gathered around one of the ninja, that wild dog-boy he argued so much with. From downstairs, the hum of almost happy feminine voices drifted up the stairs.

It brought back memories, happier days when the man he had called 'father' was still alive. Days when everyone felt safer, surer because such a strong, brave, _good_ man had told them that they were. Days that had been nothing more than a lie.

The low voice of the other ninja boy, the bug user, had nearly ripped out his heart when he had ventured downstairs for lunch. Not that the weirdo had said anything to _Inari_, but the lists and figures he had been discussing with the local men had been so painfully familiar. It had reminded the child of another male, loud and rough and a little foul-mouthed, railing at those same men, insisting that they 'man up' and do something to save their families, if not themselves.

Two great men, two bringers of hope, even if the second did drag it forcibly out of his neighbors. Two dead men. Miracles didn't happen in this world, heroes died too soon and left everyone bereft.

Inari didn't feel hope or excitement when he looked at the ninjas. He only felt a kind of sick dread, a fearful anticipation. He didn't wonder if this last, desperate gamble would work, or dream about what life would be like without Gatou's stranglehold on their country. No, Inari had only two questions saturating his thoughts.

'_What's hope going to cost us now?'_ he wondered, eyes brimming with tears that he _would __**not**_ shed. _'Who's going to die __**this**__ time?'

* * *

_

Meanwhile, in lavishly decorated halls and opulent chambers, dignified men and women met, their voices hushed. "Have you heard?" they whispered behind closed doors, rumor and speculation mounting 'just between us'. Veiled comments and slight inflections, nothing overt or specific, only the vaguest of murmurings.

Tone carried more meaning than words, as sweet, polite drivel touched lightly upon a subject and then moved away on the ephemeral wings of idle gossip. Attitudes permeated the halls – and those within them – with the source long since forgotten, lost in the endless twisting corridors of 'I heard' and 'someone mentioned'.

Alone on his dais, the Fire Lord glanced uneasily towards his Hidden Village – and could not have explained his fear, had he even noticed it.

* * *

**A/N 2:** WTH? FF net is messing up my formatting! It's destroyed the scene separators, and WTH is half of it in italics? I'm sorry guys, but it won't let me fix it right now! I won't be mean and take down the chapter, but I promise, it WILL be fixed just as soon as the site quits being wonky. I've done the best I can to work around it for now.


	17. Intensity: Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hello to anyone still watching this. There are four things I have to tell you:

1. I will not apologize this time for taking so long to update. RL got... bad... for a while there.

2. I have seriously (but temporarily) downgraded Gai - reasoning being that he was locked mostly in a cell under massive chakra suppression for about 8 years. In RL martial arts, if you take a month off, it takes about 3 to get back to where you were, so he's not as powerful as canon.

3. I have souped up some minor anime villans to make appropriate opponents.

4. I still don't own Naruto.

* * *

Kakashi watched with narrowed eyes as his students left the room.

For two days now, there had been no griping, no exclaiming at unfairness, no complaints at all. They had been helpful, offering to act as minor messengers or to help clean and repair some of the damage throughout the town and Tower caused by the sandstorm - and the insane Jinchuuriki. They had been perfectly polite, even to Kankuro.

They were Up To Something.

He knew it as surely as he knew his own name. It was eating away at his nerves, a constant tension in his spine as he waited in fearful anticipation for their plot to be revealed.

Not that he had simply waited quietly - oh no, he had questioned them all, both subtly, individually, outright and all together. But years in hiding had given them more expertise in secrecy and misdirection than any adolescent had a right to possess, and none of them were going to spill without far more aggressive methods than Kakashi was willing to use on his own Genin.

So he ground his teeth, watched them when he could, and wished desperately that he could justify putting them all under armed guard in their quarters.

* * *

_~W~a~v~e~_

Dark clouds massed in the sky, casting a dull, oppressive light on the island. Snickers ran through the gathered mercenaries, sneers crossing arrogant faces as the band looked down from the treetops at the pitiful defenses the little town had managed to throw up in the four days they had been away.

Aoi laughed outright, idly twisting his umbrella tip into the damp earth. "Did they send shinobi or students, hmm? Because if _that_ is the quality of Konoha's work, then sending _us_ in is overkill."

Laughter rang again through the group, particularly amongst Aoi's Chunin trio. "Unlucky" one of them giggled.

Opposite the quartet, Gozu leaned forward, draping an arm over his brother's shoulder. "Still, it should be fun - even student brats should be able to put up more of a fight than these civilian sheep, right Meizu?"

The younger of the Demon Brothers snarled, his eagerness showing in his voice. "Yeah - and then we'll slaughter the idiots who dared hire them!"

In response, a deep voice rang from beneath one shinobi's hooded cloak. "I call dibs on the Jounin - they said it's a her, right? I'll give her a funeral. Might even be worth being sad over." A soft giggle followed the dramatic words, and no few of the nearby shinobi stepped warily away.

The barely visible but clearly eager grin toned down, warmth infusing the smile for a brief moment. His voice, when he spoke again, was fond. "Hey, Ranmaru, I'll show you how baby shinobi are usually trained - it's a lot different than Mist, I think you'll like it. So pay attention, eh?"

The ex-Mist Jounin didn't move, but the cloak on his back shifted slightly. The soft voice came again. "Okay Raiga, I will."

Haku sighed soundlessly, regret weighing in his chest, but raised his hand. A deep breath in, and he allowed his hand to fall. By the time it reached his side, all of the shinobi had vanished.

-o-

Neji knelt quietly in his hidden alcove, eyes nearly closed as he breathed deeply, rhythmically. Sedately taking himself through every meditation exercise he knew, the boy waited with all the patience forced on him through a lifetime of hiding in the light.

It was not Team Gai's turn to shine - not yet, not until the enemy had shown itself. The combat specialist squad was their ace in the hole, and the ace is always revealed last.

So he knelt, and he breathed, and he pushed his eagerness and frustration to the back of his mind.

Neji waited.

-o-

A shift in the wind brought brine-tinted air in from the sea, and a dark haired tracker turned his face into the breeze, sniffing at it along with the nin-dog beside him. Kiba slanted a quick glance over at his partner. "The wind'll bring mist in" he murmured almost soundlessly. "If I were attacking, that'd seem like a great time to do it." The dog huffed softly in agreement.

-o-

Kurenai stood atop one of the low ruins still stable enough to support her, her back pressed against what had once been a chimney as she watched over the two Genin spaced out along their set perimeter - though still well within shouting, and backup, distance.

The low level genjutsu blending her in with the chipped brick tickled lightly at the back of her mind, but the Jounin easily ignored it as she watched the thick fog roll in from the water. Tension wound itself tightly inside of her, and she took a slow, deep breath to acknowledge - and dispel - the feeling.

And right at the end of her breath, lightning crashed down towards her.

-o-

On the opposite end of town, civilians huddled in the warehouse behind a single Genin. Shino heard thunder roar - and it seemed to be the signal for everything else to explode. Even as he sent his allies swarming out, the sky opened up and the rain poured down.

The usually stoic Aburame boy let out a quiet oath - the heavy rain would compromise his allies' flight, weighting them down as it wet their wings. But he had no time to worry about his little friends, as a trio of men caught sight of him and charged.

Shino drew his kunai and stepped forward.

-o-

"Hello" a voice nearly purred. Without thinking, Hinata instantly spun to lash out, activating her Byakugan eyes as the green-haired shinobi danced nimbly back, an umbrella snapping up and open to deflect her palm. The man laughed, tossing wavy hair daintily out of his eyes, and smiled under his scored Rain hitai-ate.

Hinata blinked, as the small part of the brain that sometimes offers up random stupidity wondered what it was with this Gatou and such _pretty_ shinobi - Haku and this one both looked girlier than she did!

But most of her was busy scanning the area around them. No civilians, of course - they were all well away under Shino's guard. Kiba wasn't too far off, albeit he was currently engaged in a scuffle of his own. His opponents moved badly though - she would guess hired thugs, not shinobi. He would be fine.

What slightly worried her were the hollow pockets in the umbrella of the Ame missing-nin in front of her. Those slender slivers were probably sen bon, though she wasn't sure how they could be used.

He soon showed her. Laughing, the man swung his umbrella up above his head, and Hinata darted in to strike at his exposed body. He darted quickly away, that smile widening. "No-no little girl" he chided, spinning the handle of his weapon.

And then it was Hinata's turn to move as tiny silver needles came flying towards her, nearly invisible in the heavy rain. At least, to one without a Kekkei Genkai.

Hinata smiled back.

-o-

From their various hiding places, Team Gai watched attentively as their comrades engaged in battle.

Gai particularly watched for the long-haired young man Kiba and Hinata had described, as the youth would have had to be rather skilled to have seen through their charade.

Tenten lightly touched fingertips to her scrolls and gear, one last check to reassure herself of her weaponry.

Neji waited for another spike of chakra, and then activated his own Byakugan, casting his awareness out to keep watch over his friends.

Lee, midway between Shino and the other Genin - and a warm pride bubbled happily at the memory of Gai-sensei trusting _him_ to be fast enough to reach and assist either position - cast a restless gaze over the empty his eyes narrowed as he spotted movement along the shoreline. _'He's trying to sneak around and attack the civilians!'_' he realized with outrage.

Without further hesitation, the boy launched himself into action, placing himself between the enemy and the innocents ahead. "And where are_ you_ going?" he demanded. Lee studied the man for a moment, eyeing the respirator-like mask over his lower face and wondering uneasily if his opponent were some sort of poison-mist user. And was that a _straightjacket_ he was wearing?

The strange Rain shinobi cocked his head curiously, dark eyes lighting up. "Ah, a bigger brat for me?" the stranger giggled. "Luc~ky" he singsonged.

As gloved hands came up in a strange combination of seals, Lee moved - and had the satisfaction of seeing his enemy's eyes widen just before a flying sidekick connected with his face.


	18. Intensity: Chapter 5

**A/N:** Thank you, everyone, for your understanding - not to mention your faith in me. Now, 3 things about this chapter:

1. Naruto is very glad that I don't own him or his friends.

2. I actually _like_ Kurenai - I think she's very skilled, and probably very clever. But she's _not_ a powerhouse.

3. I _warned_ you I'd souped up the villains...

* * *

**_~S~u~n~a~_**

Light barely filtered into the large space, irregular shapes casting threatening shadows along dusty walls. Dim lights flicked on, triggered by the lone figure stepping quietly into the room. Sakura sneezed, stirring up even more of the dust that tickled her nose and settled grittily in her hair. The girl made a brief face, but shifted her burden and continued on into the dark storeroom.

Judging from the amount of filth, she guessed that this was one of those places Suna put things they never expected to need - or even _see_! - again. Finally setting her box down on an empty patch of floor, the Genin wiped her hands on her shirt, looking curiously around the cluttered room. Shaking her head at the mess, she turned to go back up the stairs... only to have her attention caught by a splash of color leaning crookedly against one wall.

Interest peaked, she glanced quickly up the stairs, and then stepped through the maze of boxes and furniture and who-knows what else. Keeping a sharp eye out for scorpions, she finally knelt in front of the object, dusty hands righting and wiping away the film of age. And then green eyes widened.

_"Oohh"_ Sakura breathed in surprise. "Oh, the boys need to see _this_..."

* * *

**_~W~a~v~e~_**

Hinata darted, Sanctuary's distinct weaving motions shining through her Clan training as she ducked and dodged the rain of needles slicing through the air. A tiny smile played at the girl's lips as she drew back her palm for a series of crippling Jyuuken strikes - only to twist away, free hand snatching a kunai out of her belt as the strange Rain man swiped at her with some sort of black, knobby object.

Steel met steel as kunai and weapon met, and then... the adult's smile _twisted_, some unholy mania lighting his eyes as he laughed. "Sorry, little girl, but you won't beat Rokusho Aoi that easily!" And with a light push of chakra, lightning blazed to life in the form of a blade. Conducted and amplified by steel and soaking rain, it snapped and sizzled along nerve and muscle, making the slender Genin's spine arch instinctively.

Hinata _screamed_.

-o-

That pained cry ripped through the air, causing four different shinobi to react. Neji jumped to his feet, his Byakugan registering his cousin's danger only a heartbeat before she cried out. But he checked his speed as those same eyes saw two different - and closer - shinobi move towards the girl.

Gai launched himself out of hiding, moving at high speed towards the familiar voice cracking with an unfamiliar tinge of agony.

Kiba's head snapped around, eyes widening as he recognized the high voice, though he had never heard it in _that_ tone. "Hinata..." he breathed. "Shit!" he snarled. "Akamaru, handle these idiots!" His partner's short, sharp bark was all the acknowledgment he needed as he broke easily away from the weak thugs he had been engaging. Unaware that one of the Jounin were en route, Kiba raced towards his endangered teammate.

And Haku winced, watching passively from the sidelines. Patiently observing, and waiting for just the right moment to strike.

-o-

Lee's kick connected firmly - and passed straight through his opponent. Recovering instantly, the Leaf Genin spun, leg re-chambered for the next kick... only to see nearly a dozen of his enemy pulling themselves out of quickly growing puddles. "Ah. Bunshin."

Lee smiled again, though the expression held only trace amusement. "Unfortunately for you, my friend, I regularly train with the _master _of Bunshin. This many of you is _nothing_!" And Lee settled into his stance, regulating chakra into his feet for traction on the slick streets before launching into a multi-front offense. He ducked and spun, blocking and lashing out with powerful taijutsu attacks as he demolished the multiplying Bunshin one by one.

Lee laughed.

-o-

Neji turned, brow furrowing as he watched another of his comrades. "Lee, what are you...?" Then pale eyes widened as he realized what he was seeing. "Genjutsu!" Gritting his teeth, Neji changed direction. He wasn't sure what advantage the enemy expected to achieve by herding his friend out onto the ocean, but it wasn't going to be enough if _he_ had anything to say about it!

Even as he moved, Neji made a mental note to drag his teammates to Kurenai's group after this ended for practice in breaking genjutsu.

-o-

Kurenai winced inside as she heard her Genin scream, but she would have to trust the others to help the girl. There was nothing she could do about it at the moment. Hands flying, sliding into one of her beloved genjutsu, Kurenai tried to circle around her enemy - only to have lightning crash unerringly towards her.

The Konoha Jounin dived into an evasive roll with an oath on her lips, and her hooded opponent snarled. "That won't work! Now fight me, give me a good match, or I won't be able to cry at your funeral!" The man crossed his twin swords, and lightning arched down again.

Kurenai dodged, but not quite quickly enough. The ground just behind her exploded, sending the elegant Jounin hurtling through the air. Twisting in midair, she managed to control her fall, landing in a crouch on a nearby rooftop. As she called up one of her best techniques - anything to buy a moment, room to breathe! - she thought she heard a soft voice, but couldn't be sure over the wind and rain.

But lightning zeroed in again, and she dodged - immediately throwing her arm up to block as she realized her enemy was_ right there_! Steel screamed along steel as kunai met sword, but she felt the bite of pain and the warmth of blood as the second sword dug into her left shoulder. And before she could do more than spin out from under the attack, a booted foot connected solidly with her ribs.

Lightning struck again, finding its target in a slender woman unable to dodge quickly enough with the breath knocked out of her, slinging the genjutsu user through the air. She hit the ground hard, hands shaking as she pushed herself back to her feet. Unease, and a tinge of fear snaked down her spine. Kurenai was a spy, an infiltration or capture specialist. Sometimes an assassin or interrogation operative. _Not_ a close quarters combat expert. In a situation where her genjutsu wouldn't work... this could get ugly.

Fast.

-o-

Realizing that something had gone wrong, Tenten jumped from her hiding spot with every intention of reinforcing her squad. But she was quickly intercepted. Hearing a familiar whistling sound, the girl dropped to the ground, allowing the attack to sail harmlessly overhead. But an odd clicking sound caused her to glance back, only to see a cloaked and gas-mask wearing shinobi with the end of the spiked chain attached to the clawed gauntlet on his hand.

A chuckled made her spin back around, finding a similar, if uncloaked, opponent at the other end of the chain. "First one" the uncloaked one murmured.

"Who are you?" the kunoichi snapped.

The two glanced at one another, and the cloaked one giggled. "The Demon Brothers, of course. Now die!" And the pair darted in different directions, circling tightly and dashing back to crisscross each other's path, attempting to trap the Konoha Genin in the center. Tenten snarled, hurtling kunai at the links of the chain, vaguely amused as the sudden stop jerked the brothers off course.

But she wasn't laughing as the instantly unattached the chain, using the momentum to increase their speed as the rushed her with their claws. Tenten hurriedly activated one of her scrolls, summoning her iron sansetsukon to hand. The girl lashed one end of the tri-sectional staff at the further of the brothers, swinging the opposite end up to block the nearer sibling's claws.

Dancing back, she spun the staff in quick, precise lashes at the nearer brother, then abruptly twisted to jab it into the gut of the one trying to charge at her back. But by the time she turned back, one of the pair had gotten their chain free, tossing it eagerly to his brother.

Tenten settled into her stance, watching constantly for her chance to stop defending and attack.

-o-

Gai paused in his headlong dash, focused mind noting the Inuzuka boy barreling around the corner to aid the Hyuuga girl. The Green Beast hesitated, eyes flicking between two different sources of lightning strikes. Two of his comrades were in trouble - both of the youngsters were only Genin, but Kurenai had no backup.

Just as he decided which battle needed his help more, he more felt than saw a flicker of motion at his back. Gai spun away, ducking back - only to back straight into something cold and solid. A hurried glance showed what appeared to be a wall of slightly mirrored ice - and by the time he turned back, the space around him was completely enclosed.

Another flicker of motion gave him just enough time to dodge the barrage of senbon hurtling towards him, and at the next flicker he launched a blitzing strike, slamming his fist into the ice. He growled in annoyance, quickly turning to chase the masked shinobi flitting from mirror to mirror, occasionally batting senbon out of his way.

Gai smirked. His taijutsu wasn't cracking the ice - which he strongly suspected was some sort of Bloodline Ability, judging from how quickly it formed and the amount of chakra pouring off of it - but he could easily push this enemy - only a boy from the looks of him - into scrambling back. And based on that same outpouring of chakra, he doubted the boy could hold it for long.

"I am sorry, young one" he called, as another kick made the youth throw himself to the ground and change directions. "But you are just. Too. SLOW!"

-o-

Neji touched lightly down on the shore, gritting his teeth as he saw his teammate move farther and farther out onto the water. He had tried yelling at the boy, but apparently his voice could not penetrate the illusion his friend was under. Blue eyes narrowed as he finally saw the trap - the three shinobi beneath the water all wore masks, apparently allowing them to breathe without surfacing. If Lee wore himself down fighting illusions, and they could pull him under... Focusing his chakra almost thoughtlessly, Neji raced out onto the churning sea.

-o-

Kiba rounded the corner just in time to see Hinata hit the ground. The girl rolled on impact, staggering only a little as she dashed to the side to avoid a rain of needles zeroing in on her. A quick assessment, a heartbeat of mental calculation, and the tracker grinned. A slight shifting of feet, a war cry of "Gatsuuga!" and Kiba launched himself into his favorite attack, trusting the rotation of the technique to deflect the light senbon.

It worked just as he'd thought it would... but there was something he'd missed. He barely had time to register Hinata's horrified shout - "Kiba, NO!" - before the enemy turned, a flicker of black in his hand... and then the world lit up as electricity ricocheted through his cyclone attack.

Fragmented and striking multiple points at once, Kiba couldn't even draw breath to scream.

-o-

Raiga growled in irritation, watching the pathetic little kunoichi flounder as her illusions failed her time and again. This was _not_ the challenge he'd hoped for from a Jounin. He might as well have taken on one of the Genin babies, for all the fight she was putting up. "Sorry, Ranmaru" he muttered, genuine regret in his voice. "I'd hoped to show you a better time that _this_."

Curled in the harness against his back, shielded from the cold and damp by his cloak and body warmth, his young partner shifted. Some of Raiga's rage cooled as a small hand patted his shoulder gently. "It's okay, Raiga, really. I don't mind - actually, it's kind of interesting to watch her fight. We didn't see many kunoichi back in Mist. She moves very differently than a male shinobi."

An amused smirk quirked at his lips, and Raiga laughed. "You always see the bright side, don't you kid?" He was so busy paying attention to his friend, he didn't notice the Konoha kunoichi tilt her head, red eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

-o-

Tenten spun her tri-staff yet again, jabbing one end into the ground to halt the chain as she spun the opposite end in an overhead clearing move, driving back the Demon Brother closest to her. But that left her back open, and the other brother took advantage to swipe at her with those wicked claws. Tenten ducked away, biting off an oath as it scored her upper arm anyway.

She had managed to avoid major injury so far - the brothers weren't all that powerful individually, but their synchronicity was high - but she was streaked with light wounds from close calls. She danced back... and stumbled, vision abruptly blurring. Shaking her head quickly to dispel the disturbance, confusion flickered across her face. The Demon Brothers laughed.

"The poison's finally kicking in!" one of them crowed, and Tenten felt something inside grow cold.

-o-

Haku's breathing was precise, controlled - but his mind ran through a litany of oaths. And Haku wasn't one to curse. He had expected this green-clad shinobi to be strong, had thought he had seen his speed - it was why he'd attacked, to keep what seemed to be the most dangerous of them away from the battles.

But he hadn't expected the man to be _this_ fast! It was taking all he had just to avoid the man's attacks, and as much as he felt bad for killing the little Genin he'd liked, a part of him hoped the others would finish their battles soon.

He was going to need help if this green speed demon was to be beaten.

-o-

Hinata pushed her still-trembling legs for more speed, trying to get to Aoi. Part of her mind prayed frantically for Kiba, knowing _exactly_ how much that lightning sword hurt - but the rest of her knew that if she was to have any chance of beating this enemy, she needed to hit him _now_, while he was occupied with electrocuting her teammate. Otherwise that sword would keep them both at a distance until his needle rain finally wore them down. And she had a sneaking suspicion that those slender silver weapons were poisoned...

A little closer, and... _there!_ The girl slammed a Jyuuken strike into Aoi's shoulder, but he was fast, faster than her. He spun before she could blink, that lightning sword crashing into her outstretched arm.

She vaguely hoped Kiba was alright as her senses whited out.

-o-

Oboro chuckled quietly as he watched the _stupid_ little Genin brat fight the thin air above him. Behind him, Mubi and Kagari traded anticipatory grins.

But a frown flickered on his lips as another brat stepped into the playing field, completely ignoring their illusionary Bunshin. Oboro scowled sulkily. "Fine" the young man spat, hands twisting into familiar seals. The other two members of his team followed easily, catching on and backing up their comrade. They watched in satisfaction as the long-haired boy went to bypass another Bunshin - and got a kick to the kidney for his negligence. The boy cussed, and the trio giggled.

Mubi kicked towards the surface, kunai sliding from its sheath as he pushed up behind the unsuspecting shorter-haired enemy. The Rain shinobi exploded from the water, kunai slicing viciously down - but a shout from the other Genin finally alerted the first, and the boy dropped into a spinning hook kick that connected sharply with his side.

The rest of Team Oboro scowled as their comrade went skidding across the waves, and the pale-eyed boy reached the little taijutsu fighter. A quick hand seal, a light touch, and the first brat they'd trapped startled as the genjutsu was broken and the boy realized he wasn't actually on land anymore.

Exchanging a glance, the Rain pair nodded. It was time to finish this. The two swam in different directions, trusting their Mizu Bunshin to cover for them and buy enough time to pull of their last attack. As he surfaced, Kagari's hands were moving rapidly, almost moving as quickly as the cruel smile stretching across his face.

And the Genin brats startled, darting suspicious glances as the rain turned black, a slick, shiny coating settling along the top of the restless sea. But they couldn't run, not yet. Not until they beat all of Mubi's Bunshin - and by then, it would be too late.

A quick bite down, a swipe of blood and a light brush of chakra, and the scroll at Oboro's waist released his favorite crossbow. He took only the most general of aim, loosing the arrows. And the striker at the end of the fletching grated against the flint on the bow, catching the arrows alight as they soared skyward.

Oboro had just enough time to see the Genin's eyes widen in horror before the entire area was engulfed in flames, forcing him to dive beneath the safety of the waves.


	19. Intensity: Chapter 6

_**A/N:**_As promised, this WILL be completed. Eventually. Ironically enough, it was a song on the radio that kicked the muse back into gear - I won't post it here, because if you know it it could be sort of spoiler-ish. But I will post the band/title at the bottom, if anyone is interested.

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Naruto.

* * *

Inari stared, wide eyed as the bug using ninja he'd been so creeped out by stumbled, exhaustion evident in every line of his body… but _stood back up_. The boy – and he was a boy, the younger realized, not too many years older than Inari himself – had been fighting non-stop, dozens of Gatou's hired hands littering the ground around the warehouse. The insects he used, weighted down by the driving rain, were slowed, slaughtered by the dozens. Though relatively unskilled, sheer numbers broke through the ninja's guard again and again.

But still the Konohan fought. Injured, exhausted, dripping with rain and blood, the teenager never faltered, never hesitated to engage the next of the seemingly endless horde.

In spite of his own judgment, Inari felt admiration creep into his heart. He was barely conscious of his own tension when Shino was forced to duck away from a blow, his wince when the teen didn't dodge fast enough… or his grin, when the visible member of the team he didn't realize he was coming to believe in laid out yet another of their mutual foes.

* * *

Kiba swore, twitching, shuddering muscles fighting his mental command to _get up_. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard his enemy swear worse than him. Looking up, a tiny grin flickered at the sight of the girly bastard's arm hanging limp by his side, that lighting sword flickering on and off. Since the weapon was clearly chakra based… _'Hinata got him'_ the tracker realized. Then the grin vanished, as his fuzzy brain registered the crumpled form of the kunoichi at the Rain Nin's feet – and the steel held high above her.

Pure panic flashed through him, and Kiba forced his body into a stumbling lunge even as a flash of white in the corner of his eye made him reach out an arm, Akamaru veering enough for his partner to grab hold as they raced towards the unconscious Hyuuga girl.

The green-haired man spun, danced back, kunai coming up fast enough to stab into Akamaru's right shoulder – but not fast enough to keep Kiba from pushing away from his partner's side, his own kunai biting deep into the Ame shinobi's ribs. Abused muscles unable to hold under the strain, Kiba twisted, using his weight to rip the blade around and through his enemy's spine as he collapsed.

Kiba couldn't see the shock on the man's face as he blacked back out, but he could hear the gurgle as Akamaru's fangs ripped into their enemy's exposed throat.

Drenched in red, the nin-ken whined anxiously as three different shinobi bled into the mud.

* * *

Lee's heart froze in his chest as the world caught fire. Flames leapt, hot and hungry, reaching out for the Genin pair in their midst. He shared one horrified glance with Neji, and then that reaching blaze caught, latching onto the black tar caking their clothes. Choking back pained screams, the boys dragged in one desperate burning breath and dove beneath the surface.

The view from underwater was nightmarish, the storm dragging up silt from the bottom, leaving little visibility as fire painted it all a lurid red. The glow spread for what looked like forever in any direction, and Lee realized with a sinking heart that they would never be able to swim all the way out – they would have to resurface into the flames or drown. And somewhere in the mess was the Rain trio, breathing easily and waiting for the Konohans to choose their paths.

A flash of pale color snatched his attention, urging Lee to dart away as steel sliced through the water he had just been floating in. The Rain Nin had found them. Dodging more kunai, Lee learned quickly that fighting underwater was very different than fighting on top of it, the sting of salt in accumulating cuts only serving to supplement the burning in his chest. He needed air. Soon.

A swift glance showed that his teammate was faring little better, the advantage of his Byakugan eyes lessened by the water's weight slowing his movements. Twisting out of yet another weapon's path, he vaguely saw his genius teammate's expression light up. Catching his gaze, Neji made a circular motion with his free hand, pointing urgently from the taijutsu specialist to a sand bank a dozen feet below them. Thick brows furrowing in confusion, the teenager nodded – not quite understanding, but trusting his friend all the same. They dove, and on touching ground Lee drew one knee to his opposite shoulder, torqueing his body into his Konoha Senpuu even as Neji dropped into stance and pushed off into his Ultimate Defense.

To Lee's shocked cheer, the combined rotational force swirled the sea around them, pushing wave and flame alike outward. He spun faster, trying to breathe shallowly as the lack of flame did nothing to reduce the heat in the air, somewhat aware of Neji doing the same.

He did not see when the artificial whirlpool reached out and snatched their enemies into the outer wall, though he did flinch when they screamed, the tar and fire meant for the Konohans catching their makers instead.

Suddenly Neji stopped, immediately dropping into an opposing spin rather than his prior complementary one. The conflicting rotations clashed, the force shoving the two Genin away from each other – and through the outer wall of their whirlpool so quickly that they barely had time to feel the burn. Sheer speed flinging him back into the depths of the sea, Lee fought back to the top, coming up just in time to see Neji resurface yards away – and their man-made vortex collapse, dragging the three Rain shinobi into the center as it imploded.

Choking on swallowed water, wheezing through burned airways, the two Konohans turned and began the trek back towards the shore.

* * *

Kurenai watched, eagle-eyed as she shifted hands into yet another of her area-effect genjutsu, then snatched for an explosive tag. She didn't expect it to work any more than her previous ones had, but… she thought she'd seen… _there!_ She dove into an evasive roll for what felt like the millionth time that battle, paper fluttering out of her grasp as bloodied fingers lost their grip.

-o-

Raiga snarled, frustrated beyond tolerance as the little Konoha kunoichi's genjutsu failed _again_. How stupid _was_ she?! Hadn't she realized yet that those didn't work?! Completely disgusted, he slashed his swords, sending strike after strike of lightning to pummel the woman. "This is pointless!" he growled, watching her duck and dance and roll aside.

Twisting and tumbling, darting close just to jump away when he slashed at her, the weakling's attempts were only serving to irritate him further. And then his partner moved, shifting slightly as the boy laid one hand on a muscled shoulder. "Um, Raiga…" he murmured in the soft voice the Jounin had come to rely on. "Something's not right… she's moving differently than she was…"

Blue eyes narrowed, his complete faith in his young partner causing him to study the kunoichi a little more closely. "All right, Ranmaru. Let's end this – she's no fun anyway. Not even worth a funeral." Raiga charged forward, lighting licking along his blades – when the little kunoichi dodged _towards_ him, one hand flicking out.

The Mist Jounin pivoted on one foot, not needing the quiet warning to send one sword swinging across to bat away the slender senbon cutting through the air. Thick lips curved into a sneer, he stabbed both blades down, and time itself slowed to a crawl. The world registered in lightning flashes, brief snapshots between heartbeats.

He saw the kunoichi roll to her left, dropping off the roof onto a lower ledge. He heard Ranmaru cry out in sudden warning as they both realized what the bitch had done. He saw the lightning jump from his swords and onto the hair-thin wires where the Konohan had just been. He saw, with terrible, helpless clarity, that lightning arc from sword, to wire… to paper, supposedly 'dropped' in haste.

And he had just enough time to turn, trying to shield the frail body curled against his back as the world lit up in a different shade of light. The explosion threw them both, and he felt the harness break as he hit the ground, head cracking against brick.

The last thing he heard, as the world blacked out, was Ranmaru screaming.

* * *

Tenten fought to control her breathing, her ears buzzing as her eyes blurred the world into indecipherable blobs of color. Steel jangled softly as weapons jittered in trembling hands, and the girl swayed on unsteady feet. Cruel laughter rang above the storm, and dark forms stepped into her vision, the glint of light and metallic clanking revealing the spinning chain weapon she could no longer distinguish from the street.

One of the dark blurs darted towards her, and Tenten jerked away, her body heavy as she flung a kunai in the direction of the one moving past. But this left her open to the other, and even as she hurriedly formed the seals for the body replacement jutsu she felt a line of fire score across her ribs.

The technique caught, pulling her away before that line could slice beyond skin and into bone and organ, but the effected senses combined with the sudden shift to induce a severe disorientation, leaving the girl to stumble as her balance deserted her. Weakened, her knees gave out, spilling the teenager to the wet ground.

Her enemy snickered, tossing amused glances between one another. "One down" the cloaked one called, making the other laugh in delight.

"Yes" the excitable one cried, bloodlust dripping from his voice. "Let's cut her apart, brother!" The two Rain nin darted apart, circling wide around the disoriented Genin before sliding to a stop. "You're done now, little girl" they taunted.

Tenten shook herself once more, trying to ease the spinning of the world around her. Determined, the girl straightened her spine and shoulders, sliding kunai into each shaking hand. "No." she stated, quiet but firm. Brown eyes stared towards her foes, something hard glinting in them. "No" she said again. "I won't lose here - I won't fail. You_will **not**_get past me!" As her enemy moved, Tenten closed her eyes.

_'Don't look'_ she thought, remembering years of training against Lee. _'Don't see where they **are**, know where they **will**__** be**__.' _Deep breaths calmed a heart thundering in young ears, as muscles relaxed, unknowingly stopping fine tremors. Vision closed off, other senses sharpened, desperately trying to compensate.

Ears strained to pick up the soft thuds out of time with her heartbeat, warning where her enemy moved.

She heard.

Touch waited for the earth beneath her tremble, not with the harsh falling of rain, but with heavier motion approaching.

She felt.

The vague sense of _something near_ registered in the air to each side.

She knew.

Hands raising up, elbows crossed; kunai handles against her wrists, blades pointing towards the ground; Tenten lashed out, blades stabbing down mere inches from her body.

And caught in the links of the shuriken-chain meant to savage her.

Hands moving down, uncrossing, wrenching out to form a t with her body, Tenten fell, spine thudding on the ground.

And her foes stumbled, pulled forward and off balance by the chain and their own momentum. Booted feet tripped over the girl lying supine in the street.

And vicious claws sank into an ally's chest, instead of the Genin they'd targeted.

As the demon brothers stared into each other's faces, life draining from their eyes as quickly as the blood from around each other's claws, Tenten laughed. Arms braced on the ground, she pulled herself back just as the pair slumped over, but lacked the strength to stand again.

So she lay, trembling, only able to breathe and stare up at the sky she could barely see.

* * *

_**A/N 2:**_The song is Black Veil Brides' "In The End".


End file.
